HBO Max introduces ad-supported tier for just $10, launches in June
The new HBO Max tier would directly compete with Netflix and Disney+.
What you need to know- WarnerMedia is offering a new tier of HBO Max for $10.
- I will have the same features and quality as HBO Max, but it will have ads.
- The service will start this June.
WarnerMedia is offering an ad-supported version of HBO Max for $10 per month starting this June.
That's $5 off the monthly price of $15 per month for HBO Max, which has some of the best shows to watch right now. The price change comes less than a week after AT&T announced it was selling its media assets for $43 billion to merge with Discovery, which will create a new media streaming giant. That transaction will not close until 2022.
AT&T has seen a steady growth of HBO Max subscribers and gained almost three million subscribers in Q1 2021. The streaming service now has 9.7 million subscribers, and globally HBO Max and HBO together have about 64 million subscribers. Netflix has 208 million users globally.
In late April, some analysts predicted that an offering like this would challenge rival streaming services like Disney+ and Netflix, the latter of which has a basic plan for $8.99 that only offers one stream and no HD support.
Netflix does have a $13.99 plan that offers two simultaneous HD streams, although as it stands, HBO Max already supports 4K and three simultaneous streams. Disney+, which launched in 2019, costs $8 per month.
At the time, AT&T CEO John Stankey said he wasn't too worried about it.
"Whether a customer chooses to buy the ad-supported product or buy the straight subscription product, it's accretive in the same ways to our business," he said.
HBO Max
HBO Max offers plenty of content to keep you occupied while you're stuck at home, including new movie releases like Zack Snyder's Justice League. And with up to three simultaneous 4K streams, you can bring your family and friends into the mix.
And soon, you'll be able to stream HBO for less with its new ad-supported tier.