Ad-supported HBO Max option coming in June

AT&T announced on Friday that it plans to launch a cheaper ad-supported version of HBO Max in June.

The telecom giant has only released minimal detail on the plan. It hasn't yet announced pricing or an exact release date for the upcoming cheaper tier.

AT&T expects the ad-supported HBO Max tier to combine with global expansion to drive subscriber and revenue growth in 2021. HBO Max will launch in 60 markets outside of the US in 2021. These will include 39 Latin America and the Caribbean territories in late June and 21 European territories in the second half of 2021.

The company anticipates ending the year with between 67 and 70 million subscribers. The service had around 61 million subscribers at the end of 2020.

The company expects its HBO unit to more than double its revenue in the next five years.

"Zach Snyder's Justice League" is one of the high-profile HBO Max exclusives coming in 2021

In response to the pandemic, Warner Bros is releasing 17 films, including "The Matrix 4" and "Dune" to HBO Max for an entire month alongside theatrical releases. While some film industry veterans have criticized the move, fearing it will hasten the demise of the traditional movie theater, it also allows movie fans to see blockbusters at home.

HBO Max launched in May 2020. The service offers the entire back catalog of HBO series and films and extra content from parent company Warner Media. The library also includes classic series like "Friends," "Sesame Street," "Rick and Morty," and "Big Bang Theory."

The service is available as a standalone app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

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13 Comments

22july2013 3725 comments · 11 Years

About 3 years ago

HBO Max appears to cover the US, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe... but not Canada. According to the release.

M68000 868 comments · 7 Years

So, AT&T owns HBO it seems? They can throw money and efforts around on some things but when it comes to important things like scammers who spoof phone numbers AT&T is not able or interested in doing anything???

M68000 said:

So, AT&T ... can throw money and efforts around on some things but when it comes to important things like scammers who spoof phone numbers AT&T is not able or interested in doing anything???

Just as it is impossible to block all scammers' emails, it's also impossible to block all scammers' phone calls. Especially robocalls.

For the last three years the number of calls I get on my cell number (from Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and from telephone numbers that share the first three digits of my own phone number) has skyrocketed, but then it drops from time to time. I figure my cellular provider is doing battle with the enemy and I know it's not an easy battle to win. I sense they are trying.

One thing I find curious is that scammers never call me during the late night hours. Most likely they avoid waking people up because doing that doesn't get the target in a very friendly mood. So I must thanks all the world's phone scammers for respecting my nights.

fastasleep 6450 comments · 14 Years

M68000 said:

So, AT&T owns HBO it seems? They can throw money and efforts around on some things but when it comes to important things like scammers who spoof phone numbers AT&T is not able or interested in doing anything???
https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/black-or-white

StrangeDays 12959 comments · 8 Years

I wouldn't be so opposed to ads -- if you could fast-forward them. Just like on a Tivo or cable TV HD. But unskippable ads are complete BS. The only reason you couldn't skip ads on broadcast TV is because they were transmitted in real-time. Now, there is no reason except to torture the viewer. Nope.