Warner Bros. Discovery’s new destination for HBO Originals, Warner Bros. films, Max Originals, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, an expansive offering of kid’s content, and programing across food, home, reality, lifestyle and documentaries from leading brands like HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID and more, launches May 23.
Speculation has been swirling of an upcoming mega streaming merger between HBO Max and Discovery+. Now, Warner Bros. Discovery has officially announced their new unified and enhanced streaming service, simply titled Max.
Max will launch in the U.S. on May 23. The new service becomes the destination for HBO Originals, Warner Bros. films, Max Originals, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, an expansive offering of kid’s content, and best-in-class programing across food, home, reality, lifestyle and documentaries from leading brands like HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID and more. According to the company, Max will offer an unrivaled breadth with iconic franchises and strong product experience, all for great value.
A sneak peek at the launch campaign for Max, which kicks off tomorrow and celebrates the different moods, fandoms and genres that represent Max viewers, was shared in conjunction with the announcement.
Watch the official promo video for Max now:
“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 unrivaled 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, Max will have a broad array of quality choices for everybody.”
Max will offer three pricing options, giving subscribers the choice to select which plan best fits the needs of their household. Max Ad-Lite, which offers two streams and no offline downloads, will be $9.99/month; Max Ad Free also offers two streams and 30 offline downloads and is $15.99/month; Max Ultimate Ad Free offers four streams, 4k UHD resolution, and 100 offline downloads, and will be $19.99/month.
Existing HBO Max subscribers will have access to Max at the same price as their HBO Max subscription and will still have access to their current plan features for a minimum of six months following launch. HBO Max subscribers’ profiles, settings, watch history, “Continue Watching,” and “My List” items will also migrate to Max so they can pick up streaming right where they left off. In addition to all current HBO Max and Discovery+ content, Max will feature an average of more than 40 new titles and seasons every month.
“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 for the mega streamer are a Max Original Harry Potter series, a faithful adaptation of the beloved original book series by J.K. Rowling, who will serve as executive producer; a Max Original comedy series derived from The Big Bang Theory; an HBO Original Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight; a Max Original drama series based on The Conjuring films; Magnolia Network’s Fixer Upper: The Hotel; Discovery Channel’s Survive the Raft; Max Original Peter & the Wolf from Bono; Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty: The Anime; Investigation Discovery’s Lost Women of Highway 20; Cartoon Network’s Tiny Toons Looniversity; and TLC’s Love & Translation.
Max also provided first looks today at 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 Academy Award®-winner Kate Winslet; Max Original six-part docuseries SmartLess: On The Road, following Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes as they take viewers on an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the sold-out live tour of their podcast; and Max Original kids series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai. In addition to Max original programming, a first look at HGTV’s four-part Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge hosted by Ashley Graham, which will also be available to stream on Max, was shown during the presentation.
“Our incredible team has been hard at work taking the best of both legacy technology platforms to deliver a product that works much better,” said Perrette. “We’re confident that all these enhancements will deliver a stronger experience for our customers, which will drive more engagement, help enhance retention, and improve customer satisfaction, which in turn will help us continue to scale.”
Source: Warner Bros. Discovery
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