HBO has confirmed that its new streaming service HBO Max will launch on May 27.
The new product is set to rival Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+ and Apple TV+, and is owned by WarnerMedia. It’s designed to help recoup the losses from its customers cable-cutting in recent years and is the first time some of its premium content will be available to stream.
The new platform will be home to all of HBO’s existing content, as well as some classic TV shows and movies, including the hit sitcom Friends, which appeared on Netflix in the past.
HBO Max will also be home to new original content and sit alongside HBO Now and HBO Go, which will continue to operate for the time being for existing customers and subscribers.
The new service will feature shows from networks such as TNT, The CW, TCM, Adult Swim, CNN, and TBS, all of which are owned by the WarnerMedia organization. As well as their iconic original series, new shows including a spin-off on Grease and a Gossip Girl sequel are on their way.
That’s alongside The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Matrix trilogies, LEGO films, DC movies such as Joker, Wonder Woman, Suicide Squad, Shazam, Aquaman and Batman, and Superman films, as well as classics such as The Wizard of Oz, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The Shining, Singin’ in the Rain, The Goonies, and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Existing HBO subscribers will receive HBO Max for free, whilst customers who subscribe to AT&T’s mobile broadband package will also receive a free subscription.
For customers who already pay for AT&T entertainment, DirecTV or U-Verse will get HBO Max added to their subscription at no extra cost, so the service will launch with a high subscriber count.
HBO Max promises more than 10,000 hours of programming and is priced at $14.99 per month in the United States. Next year, the group will introduce an ad-supported version of the streaming service with a cheaper price tag, rumored to be around $6.99 per month.
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