HBO Max Just Slashed Its Price in Half for Certain Users
Since HBO is no longer available through an Amazon Prime Video Channels subscription as of Wednesday, WarnerMedia is offering a major discount for HBO Max to ensure those subscribers can continue watching their favorite HBO programs. HBO Max will now be available for $7.49 per month for up to six months beginning today through Sunday, Sept. 26.
The 50% off deal is available for anyone who is not a current HBO Max subscriber. New subscribers can sign up for the deal at the HBO Max website or through distribution partners Apple, Google, LG, Microsoft, Sony, Roku, and Vizio. Without the deal, HBO Max is available in two tiers, first at $10 per month with commercials and $15 per month for the ad-free service.
The platform boasts over 13,000 hours of content from various WarnerMedia brands, including HBO, Warner Bros., DC Comics, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and Turner Classic Movies. Warner Bros. is still releasing new movies on the platform at no additional cost on the same day they hit theaters, including this weekend's new Clint Eastwood movie, Cry Macho. The Many Saints of Newark, Dune, King Richard, and The Matrix Resurrections will also hit HBO Max the same day they open on the big screen.
At the start of the streaming era, several companies struck deals with Amazon to join the Amazon Channels line-up, including HBO and its rivals like Showtime and Starz, in an effort to reach more customers. Since WarnerMedia now has its own streaming platform in HBO Max up and running, it no longer needs ties with Amazon, now a rival in the streaming sphere. Although HBO Max struggled in the beginning last year, WarnerMedia reported that the platform and the basic HBO have 47 million subscribers in the U.S. and 67.5 million subscribers worldwide as of June 30, reports Deadline. WarnerMedia, which is still owned by AT&T, hopes to have 70 million to 73 million global subscribers by the end of the year.
In addition to exclusive HBO Max programming, Warner Bros. is planning to produce movies exclusive to the platform. In July, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said Warner Bros. will make 10 or more movies just for HBO Max in 2022, reports Variety. The movie studio will go back to a more traditional theatrical release strategy in 2022, but the theatrical exclusive window will only be 45 days. The days of movies only being available in theaters for 75 to 90 days are long gone.