Mikey Campbell
An already competitive streaming video field will get even more crowded in mid 2020, as AT&T's WarnerMedia plans to debut its awaited HBO Max service in May for $14.99 a month, executives said on Tuesday.
Announced at a special event held on the Warner Brothers Studio lot in Burbank, Calif., the launch of HBO Max is an important milestone for AT&T, which pumped some $134 billion of investments and acquisitions into a merger involving Time Warner and DirecTV.
U.S. customers will get first crack at HBO Max and its initial offering of 10,000 hours of content, reports CNBC. The service costs $14.99 a month and is free for HBO Now subscribers and AT&T customers, reports Engadget. An ad-supported version of the service is scheduled to hit market in 2021, with executives aiming to hit 75 to 90 million worldwide subscribers by 2025.
Along with a slew of movies, many from Warner's vast archives, HBO Max will feature HBO original series like "The Wire," content from the DC universe, Sesame Street and shows from AT&T subsidiaries Cartoon Network, CNN and Crunchyroll, among others. The service will also be the exclusive home "Friends" after AT&T pulls the sitcom from Netflix in the coming months.
HBO is working on a slate of 88 new series in 2021, including projects from Ridley Scott according to Recode's Peter Kafka.
To help set HBO Max apart from the crowd, AT&T intends to invest between $1.5 billion to $2 billion in content next year, with an additional $1 billion earmarked for 2021 and 2022, reports Reuters. The outlay compares to a reported $6 billion in funds Apple is infusing into Apple TV+ originals and a far cry from the $15 billion Netflix designated for 2019 operations.
When it launches in May, HBO Max will face stiff competition from industry stalwarts Netflix and Amazon, as well as upstarts Apple TV+ and Disney+. Apple's streaming product goes live on Friday with a handful of original movies, series and specials.
Update: Pricing details added.
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13 Comments
Can someone explain the difference between HBO Now and HBO Max? Is it going to have more exclusive content that HBO Go/Tv channel won't have?
Yeah I’ll pass on that one. Disney, and Apple TV+ is enough for me. Already have Amazon, Netflix and CBS.
am i wrong in assuming that in the states it is cheaper to get a package of channels for one price as opposed to multiple monthly subscriptions? obviously no if you just want hbo, but if you want hbo, disney, and three more at $15 a month for $75 before nextflix and apple tv (if that is your fancy) is that more expensive than a cable package with hbo and disney?
Please stop trying to claim Apple TV+ is a competitor to any studio like Disney or HBO. Apple TV+ is competing with networks like CBS All access at best.