HBO Max HBO Max (Official Thread) (1 Viewer)

[Chris Will]

Pro tip: sell your Netflix stock. If Netflix finds itself left with only their original programming, that's not enough...

Amen to that! That's $15.99 I'll save each month that can go to these new services. Netflix thinks it's originals are enough but I subscribe to watch movies and past shows I love, like Star Trek. I enjoy some of their originals but most of them I never even give a chance.

 

[Worth]

Unless they're going to spend billions on original content like Netflix and Amazon, I don't see this taking off. Warner may have a large back catalogue, but I don't think that's enough to get a modern audience to open their wallets.

 

[Cranston37+]

Unless they're going to spend billions on original content like Netflix and Amazon, I don't see this taking off. Warner may have a large back catalogue, but I don't think that's enough to get a modern audience to open their wallets.

I would be willing to bet they outspend both Netflix and Amazon. The 2 top shows this week will be both Warner titles (Game of Thrones and Big Bang Theory). Add to that the theatrical movies...

 

[Garysb]

Hope this doesn't mean they pull content from TCM. They can't be getting that much money from Cable subscriber fees. The only other source of income on TCM is the stuff they sell on their website , cruises, and film festival.

 

[Garysb]

Everybody complained about Disney's service when it was first announced by saying they didn't want to sign up for just one studio, then when the price was announced they got excited about it.

Now that Disney is taking full ownership of Hulu you will have to subscribe to two streaming services to get all of Disney content with the more adult content going to Hulu.

 

[Garysb]

The CW-Netflix Deal Not Being Renewed, With Network’s New Shows To Be Shopped Individually

https://deadline.com/2019/05/cw-net...y-drew-katy-keen-streaming-rights-1202615561/

The deal ending doesn’t mean new CW series won’t end up on Netflix, where CW shows have traditionally been among the strongest performers. The SVOD service just won’t get them automatically via an output deal; instead, it will have to bid for each show in a far more competitive environment than the streaming marketplace in 2016.

Past seasons of CW series that premiered through the current 2018-2019 season, like The Flash and Riverdale, will continue to stream on Netflix during the broadcast life of the series and beyond.

 

[Cranston37+]

Hope this doesn't mean they pull content from TCM. They can't be getting that much money from Cable subscriber fees. The only other source of income on TCM is the stuff they sell on their website , cruises, and film festival.

WarnerMedia owns TCM

 

[Garysb]

New York Times article.

An HBO Question Is Giving AT&T Executives a Headache

Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke, of “Game of Thrones,” are soon to play a part in the streaming wars.CreditHelen Sloan/HBO, via Associated Press

Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke, of “Game of Thrones,” are soon to play a part in the streaming wars. CreditCreditHelen Sloan/HBO, via Associated Press


With its acquisition of Time Warner last year, AT&T was on its way toward creating a streaming service that will one day be the exclusive online home for “Game of Thrones” and the blockbuster film franchises centered on Wonder Woman, Batman and Harry Potter.

The $80 billion deal gave the phone giant ownership of the Time Warner networks CNN, HBO, Turner Broadcasting, as well as the Warner Bros. film and television library — enough content to allow the company to stake out a two-front strategy of competing against traditional rivals like Verizon and T-Mobile while also challenging Netflix and Hulu.

But AT&T’s ambitions for its streaming service, set for an early 2020 debut, have hit a snag on a small but important detail: How much should it cost for subscribers?

The source of the problem is HBO, which has seven million online customers. The premium cable network costs $15 a month — a price that’s practically locked in because of contracts with distributors like Comcast and Dish.

streaming product, scheduled for a fall rollout, free to Apple customers. And the Walt Disney Company will charge $7, with a discount for customers paying a year in advance.

“HBO at $15 looks unreasonable compared with Disney, which has a stronger content lineup,” said Craig Moffett, a co-founder of the research firm MoffettNathanson, referring to Disney’s ownership of Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm, studios that have dominated the box office.

The job of getting the AT&T service up and running has fallen to John Stankey, a veteran of the phone company who now runs WarnerMedia, the AT&T division that includes the old Time Warner companies. Mr. Stankey appointed a council led by Robert Greenblatt, the former head of entertainment at NBC and current chairman of entertainment at WarnerMedia. Also part of the crew are Kevin Reilly, the Turner head who is in charge of programming for the service; and Jeremy Legg, a longtime Turner executive who is leading technology.

Last week two new members joined the group: Tony Goncalves, the chief executive of AT&T’s Otter Media division, and Andy Forssell, a former head of Hulu. Mr. Forssell took the place of Brad Bentley, an AT&T executive who had clashed with Mr. Reilly and others, the people said.


While the WarnerMedia executives look to set a price for the service, they are aware that any move to offer HBO more cheaply could upset their cable partners, threatening the revenue they receive from these agreements.

Adding to the conundrum: WarnerMedia, which declined to comment for this article, wants streaming content with mass appeal, the better to please AT&T’s 148 million phone customers. But HBO, the property with the best head start in streaming, thanks to its HBO Go and HBO Now services, tends to attract a select audience.

Occasionally, the network has landed critical successes that also enter the mainstream, like “The Sopranos” and “Game of Thrones,” but it’s not easy to find mass-market hits that suit the HBO brand. A coming “Game of Thrones” prequel series has a chance to recreate the magic, but Hollywood is littered with forgettable follow-ups.

WarnerMedia plans to offer several streaming tiers, including one with ads, but the main offering is likely to include HBO fare along with films and TV shows from Warner Bros. (everything from “Casablanca” to “The West Wing”) under a new brand name.

Matthew Ball, the former head of strategy for Amazon Studios, said HBO made sense as the anchor of the planned service — “Not even Disney is as well positioned, as it’s starting from zero,” he said — but the pricing problem may be hard to overcome.

The company could end up charging those who already pay for HBO online as little as nothing to subscribe to the streaming service — or it could include it as a throw-in for any new HBO subscription, the people said. WarnerMedia also has the option of lowering HBO’s retail price everywhere it’s sold (including on cable), but that would mean less revenue, which could hurt at a time when Netflix and Amazon are spending freely on content.

Mr. Stankey talked about the need to increase the volume of programming to make the network bigger and broader. That caused some people inside and outside the company to worry that AT&T would dilute a distinctive brand.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Why do I get a feeling they're going to screw it up and force me not to subscribe to their service? This shouldn't be the case for somebody like me that has their internet, DirecTV and phone service through them.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Why do I get a feeling they're going to screw it up and force me not to subscribe to their service? This shouldn't be the case for somebody like me that has their internet, DirecTV and phone service through them.

It's AT&T. If there is a way to screw something up, they will find that way.

 

[skylark68]

If most (if not all) of Warner's back catalog is truly available it might be interesting. The other night I was bored and went through almost all of Warner Archive's DVD and bluray releases on amazon. Tons of movies. If all of those were on there it might be worthwhile.

 

[Worth]

Looks like it's going to be pricey...

https://www.slashfilm.com/warnermedia-streaming-service/

 

[Cranston37+]

Looks like it's going to be pricey...

https://www.slashfilm.com/warnermedia-streaming-service/

I don't think it looks pricey at all.

$16-$17 a month but it includes HBO? I'm paying $15 just for HBO now, which means the service is essentially priced at $1-$2. And it's free if you already get HBO through a pay-TV provider. I actually find this to be a good value...

 

[Robert Crawford]

Looks like it's going to be pricey...

https://www.slashfilm.com/warnermedia-streaming-service/

Well, they can go pound sand then! I already have HBO and all the rest of their channels with my DirecTV package. These companies keep trying to screw their consumers with their corporate greed. They should be offering this streaming service free to those of us that are AT&T customers and that already have the DirecTV Premier package.

 

[Cranston37+]

Well, they can go pound sand then! I already have HBO and all the rest of their channels with my DirecTV package. These companies keep trying to screw their consumers with their corporate greed. They should be offering this streaming service free to those of us that are AT&T customers and that already have the DirecTV Premier package.

Did you read the Variety report the article links to?

"AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said WarnerMedia’s go-to-market strategy for the SVOD service will rely on pay-TV providers to 'push digital distribution on top of that as well.' He said HBO customers on pay-TV platforms would get the WarnerMedia SVOD service included."

 

[David Deeb]

....a "lower-cost-ad-supported version" next year.... Ugh. I'm not going to pay for commercials. In fact, I deleted all those free movie channel apps from our Rokus because the ad days in this house are over.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

This is way too pricey for me. We do not subscribe to HBO because I think it's too expensive, even though I do enjoy some of their original programming -- I just get the shows I'm interested in some other manner (borrowed BD's of Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire from a friend, bought Sopranos on sale, get some older series on Amazon Prime, etc.).

 

[Cranston37+]

Warner Bros. Studio chairman Toby Emmerich: “Motion Pictures companies will look like direct-to-consumer companies."

https://deadline.com/2019/06/warner...-godzilla-vs-kong-kevin-tsujihara-1202629538/

 

[Cranston37+]

A TV series based on "Dune" coming to WarnerMedia. First episode to be directed by Denis Villeneuve.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/l...-1217286?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

 

[Cranston37+]

Nice article on the service:

https://variety.com/2019/biz/features/warnermedia-jj-abrams-warner-bros-ceo-search-1203239051/

"AT&T’s tech infrastructure and massive customer base — more than 100 million consumers in the U.S., including 22 million premium TV subscribers — offer a level of reassurance that others do not.

Media analyst Rich Greenfield believes the original programming on WarnerMedia’s upcoming SVOD service will “dwarf” that of Disney+, adding that HBO already outspends what Disney+ is planning to allocate for originals.

And following The Wall Street Journal’s report that AT&T plans to bundle HBO and Cinemax with the new service for $16 to $17 a month, Greenfield says the main question for consumers is whether the service will warrant the extra dollar or two over what they pay for HBO alone."