WarnerMedia unveiled its long-awaited HBO Max, which will cost consumers $14.99 a month when it launches in May 2020, making it the most expensive gladiator in the streaming wars.
The stakes are high for WarnerMedia, whose service will compete in an increasingly crowded market. For nearly two decades, HBO has provided the gold standard in television with such shows as "Succession," "Game of Thrones," "The Sopranos" and "VEEP." But the world is changing as tech companies lure eyeballs and talent away from legacy TV channels.
Two years in the making, HBO Max is being designed to go head-to head with Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu and Disney+, which rolls out next month. The new service will be available to AT&T customers who already have HBO at no additional cost.
Because it will cost substantially more a month than rivals including Disney ($6.99) Apple ($4.99) and Netflix ($12.99), WarnerMedia executives must persuade consumers that HBO Max is worth the additional cost.
To that end, they said the service will debut with a plethora of new and old content _ totalling 10,000 hours _ in hopes of drawing tens of millions of subscribers.
"We are committed to building a scaled and profitable platform that provides a solid foundation for future growth," said WarnerMedia Chief Executive John Stankey during a presentation at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.
HBO Max will feature a wide array of content, with 31 original programs in 2020 targeting every audience demographic, including kids and family, millennials, and women.
"This is an area of emphasis for us because it is an under-served audience," Sarah Aubrey
, head of original content, HBO Max, said of the focus on women.
Programming will be drawn from HBO, documentaries from CNN, new DC superhero content and revamps of Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera cartoons, along with older favorites including "Friends" and "The Big Bang Theory" and such movie classic as "Citizen Kane" and "Singing in the Rain."
HBO Max also will be the new streaming home of the longrunning animated satire "South Park," with 23 seasons coming to the service and new episodes appearing there a day after they premiere on Viacom Inc.'s Comedy Central. The service has additionally acquired the U.S. streaming rights to the cult Adult Swim series "Rick & Morty," WarnerMedia said.
For kids and families, WarnerMedia is making a new series of "Looney Tunes" cartoons, consisting of 80 eleven-minute episodes bringing back the classic characters. "Jellystone," a new animated kids series, will feature Hanna-Barbera favorites including Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo and Magilla Gorilla. Also, Robert Zemeckis ("Who Framed Roger Rabbit?") is executive producing an animated and live-action hybrid show called "Tooned Out." The classic cartoon catalog will include "Flintstones" "The Jetsons" and "Scooby-Doo."
Longtime Warner Bros. producer Greg Berlanti, known for "Arrow" on the CW network, is shepherding a DC anthology series called "Strange Adventures" for the service, as well as a show inspired by the "Green Lantern" comics.
Other projects include "DC Super Hero High" (from executive producer Elizabeth Banks) about a group of gifted teens navigating their adolescence at a boarding school, and a series about a female rap group from "Insecure's" Issa Rae. HBO Max will also feature five stand-up comedy specials with talent picked by Conan O'Brien, the company said.
"This platform will be synonymous with quality," Aubrey said.
WarnerMedia's parent, AT&T Inc., is making a huge bet on the streaming service to transform the phone company into a 21st-century entertainment colossus. It needs to justify its $85 billion purchase of WarnerMedia, previously known as Time Warner Inc., which includes HBO, CNN, TBS, Cartoon Network and the legendary Warner Bros. movie and television studio.
For Stankey, the success of HBO Max is critical to his chances of eventually succeeding his boss, Randall Stephenson, as chief executive of AT&T. Stankey's track record has been mixed. He spearheaded AT&T's purchase of WarnerMedia, previously known as Time Warner Inc., and has run the company since June 2018.
He also was the architect of AT&T's purchase of DirecTV, which has bled more than 4 million customers since AT&T purchased the El Segundo-based satellite TV giant four years ago. In addition, the AT&T TV Now streaming product, a bundle of traditional channels, that Stankey helped create, has been received poorly by consumers.
Earlier this week, Stephenson told investors that AT&T was prepared to spend big to make HBO Max a success.
"We will make the significant investments required to win in the marketplace but we will also hit our numbers to ensure that we deliver on our promises, Stephenson said.
The company expects to spend as much as $2 billion on HBO Max next year and is projecting 75 to 90 million subscribers globally (50 million domestically) by 2025. The service is expected to be profitable by 2023.
Analysts have been eagerly awaiting details for HBO Max, given the competition. The Disney+ streaming service will debut Nov. 12, powered by brands including Marvel, "Star Wars" and Pixar. Apple Inc. is set to launch Apple TV+ on Friday with shows from Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Hailee Steinfeld.
Some in Hollywood openly question whether HBO Max will succeed. Culture clashes during the first year of AT&T ownership culminated in late February with a sweeping management changes.
The longtime chairman of HBO, Richard Plepler, and president of Turner, David Levy, departed. Stankey quickly brought in Bob Greenblatt, former NBC chief, in the newly created role of chairman of WarnerMedia Entertainment. Now Greenblatt is in charge of HBO, Turner channels and the new streaming service.
