Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) this week announced Max, its enhanced streaming service. The new offering will launch in the US on May 23 and will replace HBO Max.
Max will become the destination for WBD output including HBO Originals, Warner Bros films, Max Originals, the DC universe, the world of Harry Potter, group kids content, and programming across food, home, reality, lifestyle and documentaries from brands like HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID and more.
WBD will continue to offer the Discovery+ service in some markets as a lower-cost alternative.
At the press event David Zaslav, the WBD CEO, claimed that the new service would be able to secure content from the largest TV library in the world.
There was no news or sport in the offering, but there was a suggestion that there would be more to say about that later in 2023.
Will Max launch in Australia?
At this stage WBD hasn’t released any firm details of international launch plans.
In the media event this week, the company noted “we’ll begin rolling out in international markets where HBO Max is currently available, starting with Latin America later in 2023, followed by select countries across Europe and Asia in 2024.”
With Foxtel securing HBO content until 2025, there is no prospect of Max launching in Australia before then.
As that date approaches, WBD will have to decide if it makes more sense to continue to licence first-run content to Foxtel Group and other third parties in Australia. Or should it keep the best content for a new Max offering?
How much could a new service generate in Australia? If the service attracted 1m customers over a couple of years revenues could build to $180m annually with those subscribers paying an average of $15 a month.
“Warner Bros Discovery’s new streaming platform coming to Asia-Pacific,” reported The Australian earlier this month. Although the report also noted, “A potential rollout date in Australia is yet to be confirmed.”
Warner Bros Discovery commentary
“From the biggest superheroes to real-life champions; from culture-shaping dramas to taste-shaping entertainment; from fantastical realms to the realest of worlds, Max will offer an unrivalled range of choice,” said JB Perrette, president & CEO, global streaming & games, Warner Bros. Discovery. “This new brand signals an important change from two narrower products, HBO Max and discovery+, to our broader content offering and consumer proposition. While each product offered something for some people, It will have a broad array of quality choices for everybody.”
Initial US Max pricing details
There will be three pricing options (US$):
• Max Ad-Lite | $9.99/month or $99.99/year
2 concurrent streams, 1080p resolution, no offline downloads, 5.1 surround sound quality
• Max Ad Free | $15.99/month or $149.99/year
2 concurrent streams, 1080 resolution, 30 offline downloads, 5.1 surround sound quality
• Max Ultimate Ad Free | $19.99/month or $199.99/year
4 concurrent streams, up to 4K UHD resolution, 100 offline downloads, Dolby Atmos sound quality
Existing US HBO Max subscribers will have access the service at the same price as their HBO Max subscription.
Taking it to the Max: content in detail
“The Max service is a wide-ranging mosaic of content that will be unmatched in the breadth, reach, and excellence of its offerings,” said Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content. “We are unique because we have the best-in-all-categories across the board by any measure – be they ratings, awards, fandom. We know we can satisfy any craving because we have the brands that people love. At Max, they will find what they want, when they want it.”
Newly announced titles include:
• Original Harry Potter series, an adaptation of the original book series by J.K. Rowling, who will serve as executive producer
• Original comedy series derived from The Big Bang Theory.
• HBO Original Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight
• Original drama series based on The Conjuring films
• Magnolia Network’s Fixer Upper: The Hotel
• Discovery Channel’s Survive the Raft
• Original Peter & the Wolf from Bono
• Investigation Discovery’s Lost Women of Highway 20
Max provided first looks today at additional titles including Max Originals The Penguin starring Colin Farrell; HBO Original drama series The Sympathizer, an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name; HBO Original limited series True Detective: Night Country starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis; HBO Original limited series The Regime starring Kate Winslet; Max Original six-part docuseries SmartLess: On The Road, following Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes as they take viewers on a behind-the-scenes look at the sold-out live tour of their podcast; and Max Original kids’ series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.
See also:
Mediaweek’s Top 10 streaming services: Why Binge is still your best value
The dealmaker: Foxtel’s Amanda Laing on securing Warner Bros Discovery