May 14 (Reuters) - Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O is hitting rewind on Max's branding, bringing back the HBO name it dropped from the streaming service two years ago.

The company will rebrand its streaming platform as HBO Max this summer, betting that the iconic brand's global reputation will drive subscriber growth as it expands internationally.

The return to HBO Max also marks an "implicit promise" by the company to deliver unique and premium content, Warner Bros Discovery said on Wednesday. Known for its high-end programmes, HBO is home to some of the most popular, critically-acclaimed series including "Game of Thrones", "The Sopranos" and "True Detective."

"Today, we are bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead," CEO David Zaslav said on Wednesday.

Warner Bros Discovery's decision to drop HBO from HBO Max in 2023 followed its move to merge its HBO dramas and Warner Bros' content across top franchises like "Harry Potter" and DC's "Batman" with the content library from Discovery - a big chunk of which spans food, home and lifestyle content.

The goal was to offer a more broadly appealing consumer product and to help retain viewers who typically bought a subscription to HBO Max to watch a show and cancel after the finale.

But it saw strong backlash from audiences.

Even Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of streaming industry leader Netflix NFLX.O, called the move a surprise. "I would have never guessed HBO would have gone away. They put all that effort into one thing that they can tell the consumer - it should be HBO," he said in an interview with Variety earlier this year.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)

((DeborahMary.Sophia@thomsonreuters.com;))