Warner Bros Discovery’s (WBD) long-awaited streaming platform combining HBO Max and Discovery+ is called Max and will launch in the US on May 23.
The Max Ad-Free tier will remain $15.99 per month, while Max Ad-Lite will remain $9.99.
WBD CEO David Zaslav and key executives presented the new Max Ultimate Ad-Free plan, which offers 4K UHD resolution, 100 off-line downloads, Dolby Atmos sound quality, and $15.99 per month.
WBD CEO David Zaslav presented for an hour on Wednesday, April 12, approximately one year after the $43bn merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery. He and other executives highlighted the treasures in the vaults and talked up brands such as Warner Bros., Discovery, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Magnolia Network. The goal is to create a streamer that can compete with Netflix and Disney+, increase engagement, and retain subscribers by making it easier to navigate. WBD reported that it has 96.1 million subscribers to HBO Max, Discovery+ and HBO Max in its last earnings call. However, membership is not broken out.
The goal of the strategy is to create a streamer that can compete with Netflix and Disney+ and increase engagement and retain subscribers by making the platform easier to navigate. WBD announced a
Games Of Thronesprequel series A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms : The Hedge Knight set one century before the events ofGame Of Thrones, and a live action series based on JK Rowling’s seven books that will span the next decade with a new cast. Warner Brothers – which will be celebrating its 100th year anniversary in 2023 – will release 20 films theatrically every year. 2023 tentpoles include
The flash10, Barbie and Dune 2. Warner Bros box office flop Shazam! Fury Of The Gods, which has mustered $128m worldwide since its March 15 debut, will launch on Max on May 23.Max Originals shows includes
Batman spin-off series ThePenguin starring Colin Farrell. Production has just started and Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO & Max Content, teed up a first-look teaser.There were also first-looks at
True Detective: Night Country starring Jodie Foster and directed by showrunner Issa Lopez which takes place in Alaska (no release date announced); Stephen Frears and Kate Winslet limited series The Regime (formerly ThePalace ) which takes place over the course of a year within a crumbling European authoritarian regime; and satirical Vietnam War thriller The Sympathizer from Park Chan Wook starring and produced by Robert Downey Jr., and based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television is behind the prequel animated series
Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai which debuts on Max on May 23. Max and Cartoon Network have greenlit an animated rendering of the fairy tale Peter & The Wolf in collaboration with U2 frontman Bono and his childhood best friend and musician Gavin Friday.Max is developing with horror ace James Wan, DC Studios co-head Peter Safran and Warner Bros Television a drama series set in
The Conjuring Universe, as well as a comedy series from The Big Bang Theory with Chuck Lorre, who has an overall deal at Warner Bros. Television.On the Discovery+ side, which champions lifestyle and reality programming, the pipeline includes is a show on snowboarding icon Shaun White, an environmental series with Downey Jr., and six-part mini-series
Smartless: On The Road featuring Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes on comedy tour, which launches on May 23.As previously announced Discovery+ will also remain as a stand-alone platform due to, executives said, its profitability.
JB Perrette, WBD’s president and CEO, global streaming & games, said in most cases the HBO Max app will automatically update to Max on May 23, and user passwords and billing information will migrate automatically.
Executives said WBD dropped HBO from the new platform’s title because they want to embrace a wider audience and felt HBO was regarded as too edgy by parents, despite the fact that HBO Max offered plenty of children’s programming. However the prestige and value of HBO will be preserved and it will have its own tile under the Max umbrella.
Introducing the session on Stage 14 of the Warner Bros lot where
Casablanca shot, Zaslav spoke of a “strong sense of pride and obligation we all feel standing on the shoulders of the great Warner Bros leaders who built this studio… it really is the stuff that dreams are made of.”He continued, “This is our time, this is our change, and everything is possible especially with the media assets, storytelling IP and the amazing creative talent that we have here at Warner Bros Discovery… this is our rendez-vous with destiny.”
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