When Warner Bros. and Discovery merged last year, consolidating their content into one streaming service was inevitable. So now the media giant unveiled its plans to rebrand HBO Max as Max, and announced the new payment tiers along with their respective features.
Max will be “the one to watch for HBO.” Set to launch on May 24, 2023, it will be the the destination for HBO Originals, Warner Bros. films, Max Originals, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and kid-friendly content. Max subscribers will also have access to best-in-class programing across food, home, reality, lifestyle, and documentaries from leading brands like HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID, and more.
“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.”
The service will be broken down into three payment tiers, with each tier having different features like more downloads, better resolutions, and higher-quality sounds.
- Max Ad-Lite | $9.99/month or $99.99/year
Two concurrent streams, 1080p resolution, no offline downloads, 5.1 surround sound quality. - Max Ad Free | $15.99/month or $149.99/year
Two concurrent streams, 1080p resolution, 30 offline downloads, 5.1 surround sound quality. - Max Ultimate Ad Free | $19.99/month or $199.99/year
Four concurrent streams, up to 4K UHD resolution, 100 offline downloads, Dolby Atmos sound quality
Existing HBO Max subscribers will have access to Max at the same price as their HBO Max subscription and can visit http://help.hbomax.com/introducingMax to find out more. Additionally, HBO Max subscribers 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.
The Max rebranding is a huge change for WBD, which has been struggling to keep pace with its rivals like Netflix, Disney, Prime Video, Peacock, Paramount+, and Apple TV+. By consolidating HBO Max’s can’t-miss programming and discovery ‘s engaging real life entertainment content together, Max creates a large viewing package for all ages, with tons of new content dropping every month. As such, subscribers will have access to a wide range of content from hit movies and originals to reality TV and documentaries.
In addition to this announcement, WBD revealed the latest titles that will be exclusive to the Max streaming service. Projects currently in development, production, or scheduled to be release soon include Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, The Batman spinoff The Penguin, Park Chan-wook’s The Sympathizer, the Kate Winslet starring vehicle The Regime, a new Game of Thrones spinoff titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and a Harry Potter long-form series reboot.