HBO max streaming service

Gates, C. (2019). WarnerMedia’s HBO Max streaming service: Everything we know so far. [online] Digitaltrends.com. Available at: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/what-is-hbo-max/ [Accessed 20 Sep. 2019].
(Gates, 2019)

WarnerMedia’s HBO Max streaming service: Everything we know so far

 Chris Gates

The streaming video environment is getting even more crowded now that AT&T’s WarnerMedia announced plans to launch the newly dubbed HBO Max, its own direct-to-consumer video service featuring many of the assets from its $85 billion purchase of Time Warner in 2018.

With a long list of TV shows and movies at its disposal, including one long-running cult favorite, HBO Max has plenty of potential 

A July 2019 report indicated that HBO Max will have 10,000 hours of content at launch, including every episode of Friends (which leaves Netflix in 2020), as well as the entire runs of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Pretty Little Liars. In addition, HBO Max will be the only place where you can stream The Big Bang Theory, an exclusive that reportedly cost WarnerMedia over a billion dollars.

The service will also be the exclusive streaming source for all new Warner Bros. dramas produced for The CW network, beginning with the fall 2019 season that features the premieres of Batwoman and another Riverdalespinoff, Katy Keene.

 Future seasons of the show will also stream exclusively on HBO Max, arriving on the service sometime after they’ve made their debut on BBC America.

Premium cable programming from HBO and even Cinemax is likely in the mix, too, as well as additional content produced by Warner Bros., New Line, DC Entertainment, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, The CW, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, and Looney Tunes, which all fall under AT&T’s WarnerMedia banner now. It’s all up for grabs, theoretically anyway.

It’s worth noting that WarnerMedia encompasses a wide range of Warner Bros.-produced feature films in addition to substantial TV content libraries. That includes the DC Extended Universe superhero movies, Godzilla and King Kong’s shared Monster-verse films, and the Lord of the Rings franchise, among other properties. One major Warner Bros. Pictures property that won’t be included at launch, however, is Harry Potter’s Wizarding World, which NBCUniversal purchased the exclusive streaming rights to in a deal that runs through 2025.

Given that HBO costs about $15 on its own through cable providers or HBO’s own streaming package, HBO Now, a $17 plan could be a great value for existing HBO subscribers. 

However, that would still make AT&T’s service more expensive than its peers. Netflix’s standard package costs $13 for HD, its most popular plan, a Hulu subscription is $6 (or $12, if you want to skip commercials), and Disney’s upcoming service, Disney+, will set you back just $7 (or less if you buy in bulk).  It’s unknown how the launch of HBO Max will affect WarnerMedia’s existing DC Universe platform that offers all of the DC Entertainment series and films along with some original content. although WarnerMedia has confirmed that Doom Patrol, DC Universe’s most popular show, will stream on both DC Universe and HBO Max. The DC Universe service also includes a vast library of digital comics, as well as original series like Doom Patrol and Titans, and was officially launched in September 2018.