HBO Max is coming. The premium network’s streaming service finally saw details of its launch released. HBO announced on Tuesday that the service will be made available in May 2020. A specific date was not revealed. The cost of the subscription was also announced. Users will be able to access 10,000 hours of “exceptional content” at the cost of $14.99 per month.
Many eyes were fixated on what HBO would charge for its service after Disney+ came in on the lower end of the spectrum at $7.00 per month and offering various bundles to up the ante. Apple’s streaming service went even lower at $5.00 a month. At the forefront of the streaming wars, Netflix’s prices have increased to $13.00.
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Existing HBO subscribers and many AT&T customers will have the service added at no cost.
Before we declare an end to this epic day, here are the details you’ve all been waiting for: pic.twitter.com/BUW6RTd6Fy
— HBO Max (@hbomax) October 29, 2019
On its corresponding website, HBO Max shares some of the content that users can expect to see when the service hits the market next spring. There will be access to all of HBO’s shows along with “culture-defining TV” like the newly acquired Friends, Rick and Morty and Doctor Who. Pretty Little Liars, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and The Big Bang Theory will all call the service its home, as well.
Movies that hail from Warner Bros., DC, Studio Ghibli and New Line Cinema, among others, will also be found on HBO Max. That includes Casablanca, Matrix and The Lord of the Rings series of films.
Giving the service its unique-feel will be its list of original content. There will be a revival of the Gossip Girl series that originally starred Blake Lively. Ellen DeGeneres will have another show on the service, Ellen’s Home Design Challenge. The Flight Attendant will also be an original and will star Kaley Cuoco from BBT and Michiel Huisman from Game of Thrones.
Speaking to Variety, AT&T CEO John Stankey explained his big plans for the platform. He wants people to know that he isn’t going into this with little expectations. There’s a lot of money he’s investing into putting out the top streaming service.
“We didn’t put $100 billion into a transaction for want of a couple billion to figure out how to run it better,” Stankey says. “We are going to invest in [content] and we are going to put several billion more in to make sure that $100 billion investment pays off in the way we expect it would.”
