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WarnerMedia HBO Max streaming service
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WarnerMedia today unveiled its much-talked-about direct-to-consumer streaming service, christening it HBO Max. In a press release, the company claims the streaming service will be “anchored” in HBO’s reputation for quality television while being “Maximized” by programming from other networks in the Warner Media empire. The service is expected to launch in spring 2020.

 

This unveiling comes with a few new announcements about content coming to streaming competitor. Beginning in 2020, HBO Max will become the streaming home of The CW’s scripted television, including the new DC series Batwoman and the Riverdale spin-off Katy Keene. All 236 episodes of Friends will find a new home on HBO Max after leaving its current streaming home, Netflix. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Pretty Little Liars will also be a part of HBO Max’s library.

 

The streaming service has also signed top tier creatives for a slate of exclusive content. These include Arrowverse architect Greg Berlanti and Academy Award and Emmy Award-winning actress and producer Reese Witherspoon. Berlanti is signed to create four movies aimed at young adults. Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine will produce at least two films.

 

Max Original series previously announced include:

  • Dune: The Sisterhood, an adaptation of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson’s book based in the world created by Frank Herbert’s book Dune, from director Denis Villeneuve
  • Tokyo Vice, based on Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat starring Ansel Elgort
  • The Flight Attendant, a one-hour thriller series based on the novel by Chris Bohjalian, which will star Kaley Cuoco, who is also executive producing alongside Greg Berlanti
  • Love Life, a 10-episode half-hour romantic comedy anthology series starring “Pitch Perfect” star Anna Kendrick, who will also executive produce alongside Paul Feig
  • Station Eleven, a post-apocalyptic limited series based on Emily St. John Mandel’s international bestseller, adapted by Patrick Somerville and directed by Hiro Murai
  • Made for Love, a 10-episode, half-hour, straight-to-series adaptation based on the tragicomic novel of the same name by Alissa Nutting, also from Somerville and directed by S.J. Clarkson
  • Gremlins, an animated series from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment based on the original movie.

 

“HBO Max will bring together the diverse riches of WarnerMedia to create programming and user experiences not seen before in a streaming platform. HBO’s world-class programming leads the way, the quality of which will be the guiding principle for our new array of Max Originals, our exciting acquisitions, and the very best of the Warner Bros. libraries, starting with the phenomenon that is ‘Friends,’” said Robert Greenblatt, chairman, WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-To-Consumer. “Under the leadership of two of the strongest creative visionaries — Casey Bloys (HBO) and Kevin Reilly (original content and acquisitions) — and two of the most experienced digital experts — Tony Goncalves and Andy Forssell — I have no doubt they and their dedicated teams will deliver the world’s best storytelling to audiences of all ages wherever and whenever they want it.”

Not seeing anything about the DC Universe just yet. So I wonder if it is safe for now?

Edited by Bosco685
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1 hour ago, Pete Marino said:

is this the replacement for HBO Now?  HBO is already expensive at $15 per month, would this be even more??

I'm hearing it is going to replace it, and will be slightly more because now it merges all of the WB services (other than DC Universe so far).

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WarnerMedia’s Streaming Service Dubbed ‘HBO Max’; Set to Launch Spring 2020

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We’ve known that WarnerMedia has had its own streaming service brewing for a while now, and today they’ve announced that the service will be dubbed “HBO Max”. Warner has already had success with the HBO brand and spinning it out into streaming services HBO Go and HBO Now, so calling the new service “HBO Max” makes sense since it will include HBO as well as “Programming from Warner Bros., New Line, DC Entertainment, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, The CW, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, Looney Tunes and More,” plus original movies and series. The streaming service is set to launch in spring 2020.

 

WarnerMedia knows they have some serious content in their back pocket including all 236 episodes of Friends (that’s right—if you want to stream Friends and The Office in the future, you’ll need to subscribe to two different streaming services), upcoming series like Lovecraft Country and Batwoman, originals such as Station Eleven, an animated Gremlins series, Tokyo Vice, Dune: The Sisterhood, and much more.

 

What the press release doesn’t note is how much it will cost. It was rumored earlier this year that the service might only cost around $17-18 per month, which isn’t a bad deal if you’re already an HBO Now subscriber, which costs $15 per month. But that rumor also said Cinemax would be included, and that premium channel isn’t mentioned anywhere in this press release. Furthermore, with this ridiculous amount of content, $17-18 seems a little on the low side. I’d be willing to bet that it’s closer to $25, $15 for the base HBO package plus $10 for everything else. Of course, that’s the “low” price that WarnerMedia will use to lure new subscribers and then they’ll continue to raise subscription fees once you’re hooked.

 

As others have pointed out, you’re not really cutting the cord anymore; you’re just moving your cable package to a streaming package, and that’s clearly true here when you’ve got so many Warner-based media channels. For some, that’s a deal worth making, especially if you’ve got staples like Friends and HBO’s entire catalog. But others may decide they’re fine with just an HBO Now subscription and it’s better to hold off.

 

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HOLY! :whatthe:

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The "Friends" deal garnered the most attention because it has been one of the most popular titles on Netflix in recent years. Netflix tweeted on Tuesday, "We're sorry to see Friends go to Warner's streaming service at the beginning of 2020 (in The US). Thanks for the memories, gang."

 

The Wall Street Journal reported that Netflix most recently paid Warner $80 million for the rights to stream "Friends" for one year.

 

According to the Journal, HBO Max "is paying $425 million to carry 'Friends' for five years starting in 2020, a person familiar with the terms said, in what was essentially a transaction inside WarnerMedia.

Friends seems to be a goldmine. I had no idea.

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5 minutes ago, media_junkie said:

I read once that the 6 friends actors still get $20 million a year each from the show due to licensing/syndication/streaming fees.

:whatthe:

But it makes sense since stream services were paying so much just to run this on their network. Incredible!

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12 hours ago, media_junkie said:

I read once that the 6 friends actors still get $20 million a year each from the show due to licensing/syndication/streaming fees.

Yup, I've read more than once the show makes 1 billion a year, and each cast member gets 2%.

 

https://ktar.com/story/2373456/each-member-of-friends-cast-makes-20m-every-year-due-to-reruns/

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I read a comment the other day that I kind of agree with that said, basically, people watched Friends because they had Netflix, not the reverse. That it was generally something left on as "background noise" and that they wouldn't see a large group of people changing services just because Friends moved to it.

I also think naming the new service HBO MAX is dumb and will just lead to confusion in the marketplace. They should have named it something something new. Either something generic, like "Warner Unlimited" or made up a new word for it (ala Hulu, Xfinity, etc.)

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18 minutes ago, Antpark said:

I read a comment the other day that I kind of agree with that said, basically, people watched Friends because they had Netflix, not the reverse. That it was generally something left on as "background noise" and that they wouldn't see a large group of people changing services just because Friends moved to it.

I also think naming the new service HBO MAX is dumb and will just lead to confusion in the marketplace. They should have named it something something new. Either something generic, like "Warner Unlimited" or made up a new word for it (ala Hulu, Xfinity, etc.)

I think because HBO is a long-standing brand in the TV subscription market WB saw this as gaining instant recognition and trust. We'll see if that plays out.

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3 hours ago, Bosco685 said:

I think because HBO is a long-standing brand in the TV subscription market WB saw this as gaining instant recognition and trust. We'll see if that plays out.

And, by calling it HBO Max, instead of something new, they will likely have the vast majority of HBO Go (or whatever) subscribers just upgrade the subscription. Looking at the stable of properties they have, it is probably worth $25 per month.  We will be dropping Netflix for the HBO Max and Disney/ABC streaming services since the content we consume for the most part will be there instead. 

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55 minutes ago, kimik said:

And, by calling it HBO Max, instead of something new, they will likely have the vast majority of HBO Go (or whatever) subscribers just upgrade the subscription. Looking at the stable of properties they have, it is probably worth $25 per month.  We will be dropping Netflix for the HBO Max and Disney/ABC streaming services since the content we consume for the most part will be there instead. 

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HBO Max said Wednesday that it has hired TBS original programming executive Billy Wee as SVP Original Animation and former Nickelodeon and Disney development exec Nikki Reed as VP Kids and Family Scripted Originals. The team will create the slate of family-oriented, animated and scripted originals for the direct-to-consumer service now set to launch spring 2020.

 

The latest hires for WarnerMedia’s streaming service will report to Jennifer O’Connell, HBO Max’s EVP Original Non-Fiction and Kids.

 

WarnerMedia has been filling out its exec structure for HBO Max. On Tuesday, it solidified its digital media and tech exec team.

 

“Our kids and family team is extraordinary,” O’Connell said in a release announcing the hires. “Billy has extensive experience in animation and strong relationships within the animated creative community, as well as substantial ties with our colleagues at both Warner Brothers Animation and Cartoon Network. Nikki has worked for the industry’s premiere kids and family networks and has developed some of the most popular kids shows. These two are the perfect architects to build our animated and scripted kids and family business with a tone and personality unique to HBO Max.”

 

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HBO Max on Wednesday said it has hired former Fox Entertainment exec Roberto Alcantara, Universal Content Productions’ Chika Chukudebelu and A+E Studios’ Mark Tuohy with the titles of VP Drama, tasked with creating a slate of original scripted dramas as WarnerMedia’s streaming service that launches in the spring. The trio will report to EVP Original Drama Joey Chavez.

 

The moves round out the streamer’s drama team that already includes fellow VP Drama David Poynter and Director, Drama Maura Feerick.

 

Alcantara recently served as VP Comedy Development & Programming at Fox Entertainment, where he oversaw a slate that included Last Man Standing, Bless the Harts and What Just Happened??! With Fred Savage. Before that he worked at Project 10 as VP Content, at Momentum TV and CAA.

 

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