HBO Max With Ads Will Cost $9.99 a Month, WarnerMedia Says
May 19 2021 - 2:51PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
It's not HBO. It's HBO with commercials.
The ad-supported version of the streaming service HBO Max will
launch in early June and cost $9.99 per month, a $5 discount from
the $14.99 ad-free version of the service, AT&T Inc.'s
WarnerMedia said.
HBO Max is essentially a supersize version of HBO with its own
slate of original programming and access to classic TV shows and
movies, as well as 2021 Warner Bros. films the day they hit
theaters. There is no additional charge to HBO subscribers to
sign-up for HBO Max, which launched about a year ago.
WarnerMedia had previously promised to roll out a lower-priced
version with ads, as the company competes with Netflix Inc., Walt
Disney Co. and others that offer lower monthly prices and have
signed up tens of millions of customers.
WarnerMedia executives unveiled the details to advertisers
Wednesday during a presentation touting the company's various
platforms. The ad load will be the lightest of any streaming
service, said JP Colaco, WarnerMedia's head of ad sales.
The event took place two days after parent AT&T struck a
deal with programming giant Discovery Inc. to combine their media
assets into a new publicly held company. The news, coming less than
three years after AT&T acquired WarnerMedia and overhauled the
company, sent shock waves through the company and the industry.
Jason Kilar, the current chief executive of WarnerMedia, broke
his silence on the deal at the Wednesday event. Appearing in a
taped segment at the start of the program, Mr. Kilar said of the
deal, "Together, we will form a new company -- and superserve our
advertisers, with a promise to unite our beloved brands with
Discovery's incredible brands under one banner."
He declined to elaborate on his personal plans, saying that for
the moment it is business as usual.
Mr. Kilar and most of senior WarnerMedia management was left out
of the loop on the talks and only learned of the deal shortly
before it was unveiled, people familiar with the matter said.
People inside WarnerMedia and AT&T have indicated that it is
likely that Mr. Kilar will leave the company and not be part of the
new management team that will be put together by Discovery Chief
Executive David Zaslav.
Mr. Kilar has declined to respond to requests for comment.
People familiar with his thinking said for now he is trying to
focus on his job at WarnerMedia. He has made supportive remarks to
the company about its future in meetings with executives and staff
as well as emails.
With the ad-supported version of HBO Max, WarnerMedia's hope is
that the lower price and light ad loads will convince consumers to
sign-up. WarnerMedia hasn't disclosed how many customers HBO Max
currently has, only that combined with HBO there are 44.2 million
U.S. subscribers.
While HBO Max content such as original movies and TV shows as
well as library content will have commercials, content that is
exclusive to HBO will remain ad free. That includes not only
original programming such as "Succession" and "Last Week Tonight
with John Oliver" but also the theatrical films HBO licenses from
movie studios. Older HBO content such as "The Sopranos" and "Game
of Thrones" also won't have ads.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 19, 2021 14:36 ET (18:36 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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