HBO Max

HBO Max is an American subscription video on demand streaming service from WarnerMedia Entertainment, a division of AT&T's WarnerMedia. The service launched on May 27, 2020.

HBO Max is built around WarnerMedia's HBO premium TV service and includes all of its programming, as well as a range of additional original programming and library content from all parts of WarnerMedia, as well as third-party content providers from which WarnerMedia bought streaming rights.

History
On October 10, 2018, WarnerMedia announced that it will launch an over-the-top streaming service in late 2019, featuring content from its entertainment brands. The original plan for the service called for three tiers with a late 2019 launch. Randall L. Stephenson, chairman and CEO of WarnerMedia's parent, AT&T indicated in mid-May 2019 that it would use the HBO brand and would tie into cable operators as HBO cable subscribers would have access to the streaming service. A beta was expected in the fourth quarter of 2019 and full launch in first quarter 2020 at the time.

Otter Media was transferred in May 2019 to WarnerMedia Entertainment from Warner Bros. to take over the streaming service as Brad Bentley, executive vice president and general manager of the for direct-to-consumer development exited the post after six months. Andy Forssell transferred from being chief operating officer of Otter to replace Bentley as executive vice president and general manager while still reporting to Otter CEO Tony Goncalves, who would lead development.

On July 9, 2019, WarnerMedia announced that the service would be known as HBO Max, and would launch in spring 2020, while Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine and Greg Berlanti were signed to production deals for the service. (The "Max" moniker is shared with HBO's sister linear pay TV service Cinemax, which has alternately identified by its suffix name since the mid-1980s and used it prominently in its branding from 2008 to 2011.) On October 29, 2019, it was announced that HBO Max will officially launch in May 2020.

On January 8, 2020, AT&T announced that Audience, a channel exclusive to subscribers of AT&T-owned TV providers such as DirecTV with some original programming, would end operations in its current format later that spring, and will transition to a barker channel for HBO Max. Warner Bros. and HBO Max announced the Warner Max film label on February 5, 2020, which would produce eight to ten mid-budget movies per year for the streaming service starting in 2020. On April 20, 2020, WarnerMedia announced HBO Max's launch date as May 27.

Management
Kevin Reilly, president of WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks which includes most of the company's ad-supported entertainment channels such as TBS, TNT, and TruTV, also serves as chief content officer of HBO Max with responsibility for HBO Max-exclusive original programming and library content. Andy Forssell is the service's executive vice president and general manager while still reporting to Otter Media CEO Tony Goncalves, who leads development.

Casey Bloys, programming president of HBO, continues oversight of the core HBO service including newly-commissioned programming, but has limited involvement in Max Originals programming.

Content
WarnerMedia indicated that the service would have 10,000 hours of content at-launch, including first-run and library content from the namesake HBO (including its original series, documentaries, and specials), and content from the company's other brands and networks (including New Line Cinema, DC Entertainment, TBS, TNT, TruTV, CNN, Cartoon Network, The CW, Turner Classic Movies, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, and Adult Swim). WarnerMedia stated that the service would have over 2,000 films available at-launch, including HBO's existing pay television rights (sourced from studios including sister company Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures and 20th Century), and other library films. As with HBO's existing streaming platforms, HBO Go and HBO Now (but as opposed to its platforms on Apple TV Channels and Amazon Video Channels), HBO Max is not expected to include feeds of HBO's linear cable channels, nor is it expected to include any content (including original programming) from Cinemax, which will concurrently wind down its original programming efforts as WarnerMedia reallocates its programming investments towards HBO Max. (Cinemax shares its film content with the linear HBO channel and, as such, film content featured on both pay services will be provided to HBO Max via HBO's existing contracts with its film content distributors.) AT&T chairman and CEO Randall L. Stephenson has not ruled out adding live content from Turner Sports in the future (such as the NBA on TNT, Major League Baseball on TBS, and NCAA March Madness).

Original content will be produced under the banner Max Originals, including series, films, and specials. Original episodic content will be released weekly, eschewing the "binge" format made popular by Netflix. Kevin Reilly stated this was to ensure that originals would remain in the spotlight for extended periods, by letting said shows "breathe" as opposed to "fading quickly after a binge and burn". He also noted that the weekly schedule helped to drive the success of past HBO shows like Succession and Chernobyl, and became hits precisely due to their staying power. On February 5, 2020, Warner Bros. announced that it would form a new label known as Warner Max to produce 8 to 10 mid-budget films for the service annually. A slate of 31 original series were planned for its first year, with plans to expand to 50 for its next year, but production timelines may have been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. HBO Max will also have podcasts about the films and TV series on the service.

New Warner Bros. Television-produced series that have premiered on The CW since the 2019–20 season (beginning with Batwoman and Katy Keene) will have their past seasons placed on HBO Max a month before the newest season premieres on TV (streaming rights to existing series remains with Netflix under an existing deal). On July 9, 2019, HBO Max acquired the U.S. streaming rights to Friends in a $425 million deal, and on September 17, 2019, acquired the U.S. streaming rights to The Big Bang Theory, as part of a deal that also extends TBS's off-network rights to the series through 2028.

Outside of WarnerMedia, the service will also offer titles from The Criterion Collection, and has a long-term partnership with BBC Studios (which HBO had previously partnered with to create His Dark Materials). Over 700 episodes of BBC content are slated to be available on the service at launch, including the first 11 seasons of the 2005 Doctor Who revival, as well as future seasons twelve through fourteen, and a variety of other shows including The Honourable Woman, Luther, Top Gear, and the original British version of The Office. Additionally, future shows by BBC Studios will be co-produced with HBO Max. HBO also extended their existing partnership with Sesame Workshop, while moving said content to the front of the HBO Max brand. All fifty seasons of Sesame Street (dating back to 1969) will be available to stream on the service for the first time ever. Additionally, future seasons of Sesame Street will stream exclusively on HBO Max, alongside Esme & Roy, and several new spin-offs starting with The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, Mecha Builders, and The Monster at the End of This Story.

The service will also feature many hubs for animated programming, drawing largely from the libraries of Warner Bros. Animation (including the Looney Tunes franchise and Hanna-Barbera productions) and Cartoon Network, along with Adult Swim. Original animated series (including the Adventure Time epilogue specials Adventure Time: Distant Lands, Jellystone!, Looney Tunes Cartoons, a continuation of Infinity Train and Summer Camp Island, and a reboot of The Boondocks) for both network sections were also announced for HBO Max, and the service beat out competitors to acquire exclusive domestic streaming rights to South Park and its next three seasons, in a shared deal with Comedy Central for $500 million (with new episodes being added 24 hours after their premiere on Comedy Central). Crunchyroll will provide a growing selection of anime content for the service, starting with 17 anime. Such of these include shows like Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Kill la Kill, Berserk, Your Lie in April, Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, Rurouni Kenshin, and the internally produced In/Spectre. In addition, Death Note and Hunter × Hunter will be on the platform within the first year of the service. The service will also be the first U.S. service to hold streaming rights to the films of Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli, via its North American distributor GKIDS. Studio Ghibli films such as Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving Castle, Ponyo, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro and more will be on the service at launch. Fellow Otter Media company Rooster Teeth will also contribute content, with season two of Gen:Lock to be a timed exclusive for HBO Max. 

United States
The majority of current subscribers to either the HBO pay TV service or HBO Now at time of launch will receive access to HBO Max for no extra charge, with all three services generally sharing the same price point of $14.99 per month. However, this transition is contingent on the customer's current provider or biller having signed a new distribution agreement for HBO Max with WarnerMedia.

In announcing HBO Max, WarnerMedia immediately confirmed that HBO subscribers on AT&T-owned platforms (including AT&T TV, DirecTV, U-verse, and AT&T Mobility) will receive HBO Max on-launch at no additional charge. AT&T customers who are subscribed to their highest-tiered internet, TV and wireless plans will also receive HBO Max for free, while those on lower-tiered plans will get a free trial ranging from one month to one year. Existing HBO Now subscribers billed directly by HBO were also migrated to HBO Max on-launch at no additional charge. On April 27, 2020, an agreement was announced for HBO Now subscribers via Apple (both in-app subscriptions and Apple TV Channels) to be migrated to HBO Max. Content from HBO Max will be listed in the Apple TV app along with there being a dedicated HBO Max hub in the app.

WarnerMedia subsequently negotiated with other pay TV providers for similar arrangements. On February 20, 2020, WarnerMedia announced a distribution deal with YouTube TV that would allow members to add HBO and Cinemax, while also being able to include HBO Max as an add-on. On April 15, 2020, WarnerMedia announced a similar deal with Charter Spectrum (which acquired Warner's former cable division that was spun off in 2009, in May 2016) to give access to HBO Max for HBO subscribers via their TV Everywhere credentials. A similar agreement was announced with Hulu on May 1 for most existing subscribers via Hulu + Live TV, as well as being available as an add-on to all other plans on the service. On May 20, 2020, it was announced that WarnerMedia had made distribution deals with Altice USA, Cox Communications, Xbox, Samsung, PlayStation, Verizon Communications and the National Cable Television Cooperative.

On May 13, 2020, John Stankey, CEO of AT&T, revealed to Variety that Amazon is very unlikely to become a launch partner for HBO Max. There has similarly been no agreement announced to date with Roku or Comcast (Xfinity).

There are plans for HBO Max to introduce an ad-supported tier by 2021.

International
Localized versions of HBO Max are scheduled to launch in 2021 in Latin America and the parts of Europe where HBO already directly operates premium TV or streaming services. In the interim, at least some HBO Max original programs will be available on HBO's existing international platforms, also including HBO Asia.

In other countries, WarnerMedia says it plans to continue working with HBO's existing licensing partners for the time being. Shortly after announcing HBO Max, WarnerMedia renewed its agreements with several existing international partners for HBO main-channel programming, including European satellite TV provider Sky (now owned by rival Comcast) in the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, the Republic of Ireland and Italy (operator of Sky Atlantic); Bell Media in Canada (which operates HBO Canada and local streaming service Crave); and Foxtel in Australia (operator of Fox Showcase and Binge); these renewals mean that HBO Max will not launch separately in these countries for the foreseeable future. Some of these extensions added rights to HBO Max original programs produced by sister company Warner Bros. or provisions for future HBO Max co-productions, but they do not automatically include rights to HBO Max series produced by third-party studios, or library streaming rights for other programs to be carried by HBO Max such as Friends.

Other international services that carry HBO original programming such as Disney+ Hotstar (India), OCS (France) and Sky New Zealand have not yet made any announcements regarding carriage of Max Originals programs.