HBO Max takes on Netflix with ‘Game of Thrones’
Service will cost $14.99 a month when it launches
If you are already paying for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and other streaming TV services, get ready to dig into your wallet some more for HBO Max.
WarnerMedia finally unveiled how much its new streaming TV service will cost, and at $14.99 a month, it is probably more than what the average person is paying already for their various other streaming services. But, for that price, WarnerMedia expects its premium offerings will prove attractive enough to lure in millions of TV-watching customers.
HBO Max will launch in May 2020, and in addition to HBO blockbusters such as “Game of Thrones” and classic programs like “The Sopranos” it will include the entire library of HBO series going back more than 45 years. The service will also include TV shows from networks such as CNN, TBS, TNT and Cartoon Network, and movies from studios like Warner Bros., DC and New Line Cinema.
And HBO Max has already made a programming coup months before it goes live. Earlier this year, WarnerMedia paid a reported $425 million for the rights to stream the TV show “Friends”—and steal the series away from Netflix—starting in 2021. And on Tuesday, the service announced that in 2020, it will be exclusive streaming TV site for the longrunning animated comedy series “South Park” after WarnerMedia reportedly paid between $500 million and $550 million to get the show away from Hulu.
HBO Max believes it will be able to lure in new subscribers, and get many of its 30 million current HBO subscribers in the U.S. to switch to HBO Max. And in order to grease the wheels, WarnerMedia said current subscribers of the
HBO Now streaming service, which costs $14.99 a month, and who pay their bills directly through HBO, will be automatically upgraded to HBO Max.
With Netflix, Hulu and Amazon already ensconced in the streaming TV industry, Apple TV+ set to launch on Friday at $4.99 a month, and Disney+ on Nov. 12 for $6.99 a month, HBO Max will be entering a crowded field where consumers might be experiencing what is called “subscription fatigue” over paying for so many different services. And at $14.99 a month, HBO Max will also cost more than all of those rivals, except for Netflix’s $14.99 a month option that
lets subscribers stream shows on up to four devices at one time.
Michael Pachter, a media industry analyst with Wedbush Securities, doubts that HBO Max’s price point will scare off too many potential customers.
“The price is largely irrelevant, as they clearly
are trying to keep HBO relevant rather than seeking to grow their audience immediately,” Pachter said. “The value proposition is pretty high. Ultimately, they need only keep all their existing subscribers and add cord-cutters and cord-nevers to the mix, and I think the price is pretty compelling considering the content offering.”