HBO Max

HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and their related brands. The service also carries first-run programming from the HBO pay television service, original programming under the "Max Originals" banner, and content acquired via third-party library deals (such as those with film studios for pay television rights) and co-production agreements (such as those with BBC Studios and Sesame Workshop among others).

The service succeeds both HBO Now—a previous HBO SVOD service, and HBO Go—the on-demand streaming platform for HBO pay television subscribers. In the U.S., HBO Now subscribers and HBO pay television subscribers were migrated to HBO Max at no additional charge, subject to availability and device support. HBO Max also supplanted the streaming component of DC Entertainment's DC Universe service, with its original series being migrated to HBO Max as Max Originals. The HBO Max service began to expand into international markets in 2021.

According to AT&T, HBO and HBO Max had a combined total of 69.4 million paying subscribers globally on June 30, 2021, including 43.5 million HBO Max subscribers in the U.S., 3.5 million HBO-only U.S. subscribers (primarily commercial customers like hotels), and 20.5 million subscribers to either HBO Max or HBO by itself in other countries. By the end of 2021, HBO and HBO Max had a combined total of 73.8 million paying global subscribers. At the end of Q1 2022, HBO and HBO Max had 76.8 million global subscribers.

Since the April 2022 merger of WarnerMedia with Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO Max is one of the combined company's two flagship streaming services, the other being Discovery+ (which primarily focuses on factual programming from the Discovery brands). The two services are expected to merge in spring 2023.

History

Establishment and launch

On October 10, 2018, WarnerMedia announced that it would 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 a full launch in the first quarter of 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 direct-to-consumer development exited the post after six months. Andy Forssell transferred from being the 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 television 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 would officially launch in May 2020.

On January 8, 2020, AT&T announced that Audience, a channel exclusive to subscribers of AT&T-owned television providers such as DirecTV with some original programming, would be sunset on May 22, eventually transitioning 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. Later that year on October 23, it was announced that WarnerMedia decided to consolidate the Warner Max label into the Warner Bros. Pictures Group after its chairman Toby Emmerich, and his development and production team led by Courtenay Valenti of Warner Bros. Pictures, Richard Brener of New Line and Walter Hamada, who oversees DC-based films,
was put to manage the company's entire film output, both theatrical and streaming releases.

Warner Bros. Discovery era, future merger with Discovery+ and restructuring

On March 14, 2022, after Discovery, Inc. shareholders approved its merger with a divestiture of WarnerMedia by AT&T to form Warner Bros. Discovery, Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels stated that the company planned to pursue an eventual merger of HBO Max with its own streaming service Discovery+. Wiedenfels stated that this process would most likely begin with a bundle of the two services as a short-term option, with a long-term goal to eventually merge the services into one platform. President and CEO of Discovery Streaming and International JB Perrette first identified this as a possibility in November 2021, stating that the company could pursue such a unified service in markets where Discovery+ has yet to launch, such as other parts of Asia-Pacific.

In July 2022, as a part of a post-merger money-saving and strategic move, it was reported that HBO Max had ceased new original series development in Central Europe, Nordic Europe, the Netherlands, and Turkey, as well as removed selected international series from the platform worldwide. It was reported that France and Spain had been largely excluded from these cuts, due to French regulations requiring streaming services to produce domestic content, and Spanish-language content appealing to a wide range of markets served by HBO Max. With the cancellation of ''Gordita Chronicles'' later that month, it was reported that the service was also abandoning development of live-action children's and family programming.

On August 3, 2022, it was reported that multiple Max Original films and HBO series had been quietly removed from the service without prior notice, as part of cuts to direct-to-streaming films, as well as to write-off films and series that have underperformed as losses. It was also thought that avoiding payment for residuals played a part. This followed news that had broken the previous day that then-upcoming Max Original films '' Batgirl'' and '' Scoob! Holiday Haunt'' had been both abruptly cancelled, despite being nearly complete.

During an earnings call the next day, WBD CEO David Zaslav stated that the company would cut children's programming, and emphasize theatrical films over direct-to-streaming releases. Perrette also revealed that Discovery+ and HBO Max would merge "next Summer", with the unified service launching first in the United States, and rolled out to other markets beginning in late-2023. Later that month, more programs were removed from the streaming service, including animated and unscripted series such as ''The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo'', ''Infinity Train'' and '' OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes'', which was met with heavy backlash from fans, critics, actors, and creators alike. On August 24, 2022, the HBO Max original films ''House Party'' (which was pulled from its slate just 17 days before its release) and ''Evil Dead Rise'' were both shifted to theatrical releases.

In November 2022 during its third-quarter earnings report, WBD stated that the merged service was now targeting a "Spring 2023" launch in the U.S., ahead of the original schedule. Perrette also stated of a potential price increase for HBO Max's ad-free tier in 2023, explaining that it was "an opportunity, particularly in this environment".

When announcing the merged service, Zaslav did not immediately indicate whether it would continue to carry the HBO brand; he stated that HBO was one of the "crown jewels" of the company", and would "always be the beacon and the ultimate brand that stands for the best of television quality". In early-December 2022, it was reported by CNBC via inside sources that the unified platform was being developed under the codename "BEAM", and that multiple names were being considered—including simply "Max".

Management

HBO Max was formed under WarnerMedia's Entertainment division, then headed by Robert Greenblatt. Kevin Reilly, president of WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks, which includes most of the company's ad-supported entertainment channels such as TBS, TNT, and TruTV, was also given the role of as chief content officer of HBO Max with responsibility for HBO Max-exclusive original programming and library content. Andy Forssell was named 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, retained oversight of the core HBO service but was not initially involved with Max-exclusive programming.

On August 7, 2020, WarnerMedia announced a significant restructuring under new president Jason Kilar, which he described as "leaning into this great moment of change" towards direct-to-consumer services. As a result, Greenblatt and Reilly both left the company. WarnerMedia Entertainment was dissolved, with programming operations combined with Warner Bros. in a new Studios and Networks group under that studio's CEO Ann Sarnoff. Bloys was given complete programming oversight of HBO and HBO Max, as well as Reilly's other previous responsibilities, reporting to Sarnoff. Forssell became the head of a new HBO Max operating business unit, reporting directly to Kilar. On April 23, 2021, Adult Swim and HBO Max's adult animation development teams merged under the leadership of Suzanna Makkos.

On August 15, 2022, HBO was reorganized by Warner Bros. Discovery, resulting in layoffs within HBO Max's non-scripted originals, live-action family originals, international originals, and casting units (HBO itself never had an in-house casting department). Makkos also began reporting to HBO's head of comedy Amy Gravitt.

Programming

HBO Max features first-run and library content from the namesake HBO and other Warner Bros. film and television studios and brands. The service also includes films available through HBO's existing pay television rights that are sourced from Warner Bros. Pictures and third-party studios, such as Summit Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Studios (the latter three have respective output deals with HBO until 2022).

As with HBO's other streaming platforms, HBO Go and HBO Now (but as opposed to its platforms on Apple TV Channels and Amazon Video Channels), HBO Max does not include feeds of HBO's linear cable channels, nor any content from Cinemax. Though Cinemax shares its film content with the linear HBO channel, and therefore the majority of films in the combined library will be on both services in different windows, these films will not necessarily be available on both HBO Max and Cinemax at the same time.

Content providers

First and third-party content providers for HBO Max. Asterisk (*) denotes third parties while cross (†) denotes former providers.

* Adult Swim
* Bad Robot Productions*
* Boomerang
* Cartoon Network
* Cartoonito
** Mattel Television* (Americas and Europe only)
** Sesame Workshop* (Americas only.)
* CNN
* Comedy Central*
* The Criterion Collection*
* Crunchyroll* †
* The CW
* DC Entertainment
* GKIDS*
* HBO
* Hello Sunshine*
* HLN
* New Line Cinema
* Rooster Teeth
* Sky*
* Sony Pictures* (Central and Eastern Europe only)
* Studio Ghibli* (through GKIDS)
* TBS
* TNT
* TruTV
* Turner Classic Movies
* Turner Entertainment Co.
* TV Globo* (Latin America and the Caribbean only, except Brazil)
* Warner Bros. (except Warner Bros. Japan and Taiwan content, which currently releases through Netflix and Disney+)

Max Originals

Original content produced will be under the banner ''Max Originals'', including series, films, and specials''.'' Original episodic content is 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'' which they co-produced with Sky UK, and became hits precisely due to their staying power.

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 also has podcasts about the films and TV series on the service. It also produces original podcasts exclusively for HBO Max, with '' Batman: The Audio Adventures'' being the first.

Syndication

New Warner Bros. Television Studios-produced series that have premiered on The CW since the 2019–20 season beginning with '' Batwoman'', '' Nancy Drew'' and ''Katy Keene'' (which was cancelled in July 2020) will have their past seasons placed on HBO Max about a month after the season finale airs on television (streaming rights to existing series remains with Netflix under an existing deal). Although the '' All American'' spin-off, '' All American: Homecoming'', which premiered on the CW in 2022, was placed on Netflix with its parent show. 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.

Acquired rights

Outside of WarnerMedia, the service also offers 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 were 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. Select episodes from all fifty seasons of '' Sesame Street'' (dating back to 1969) are 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'', '' Sesame Street: Mecha Builders'', and ''The Monster at the End of This Story''. On March 8, 2022, WarnerMedia and Sesame Workshop announced they will plan new shows for Cartoon Network for the new original series run and a second run acquisition rights HBO Max, including ''Charlotte's Web'', and ''Bea's Block'' as well as the animation special ''Sesame Street: The Nutcracker''. In addition, new episodes to start of the 53rd season of ''Sesame Street'' and spin-offs will be available to stream on HBO Max in selecting Asian territories while holding the second run acquisition rights to replace PBS, more than a new first run for Cartoon Network.

HBO Max has acquired the streaming rights to several Comedy Central series, including '' South Park'', ''Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens'', '' South Side'', and '' The Other Two''; with the latter two becoming Max Original series.

In November 2021, HBO Max acquired the rights to Globo's telenovelas and series for Latin America and the Caribbean outside of Brazil.

In February 2022, Sony Pictures and WarnerMedia announced that they will extend their agreement to carry films from its subsidiary companies in its Central and Eastern Europe pay television window rights window along with the library of television series produced by its sister company Sony Pictures Television Studios, the deal will also include the rights to its releases beginning in 2022 for broadcasting on its channels and will be streaming it on HBO Max throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

Animation

The service also features many hubs for animated programming, drawing largely from the libraries of Warner Bros. Animation (including the '' Looney Tunes'' franchise and Hanna-Barbera productions, such as ''Scooby-Doo'', '' Tom and Jerry'' and Tex Avery's cartoons as well) and Cartoon Network, along with Adult Swim. Original animated series (including the '' Adventure Time'' epilogue specials '' Adventure Time: Distant Lands'', ''Jellystone!'', ''Looney Tunes Cartoons'', continuations of ''Infinity Train'' and ''Summer Camp Island'', and a reboot of '' The Boondocks'' produced by Sony Pictures Animation) 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 for $500 million–with first-run episodes being added 24 hours after their premiere on Comedy Central. Fellow Otter Media company Rooster Teeth also contributes content, with season two of '' Gen:Lock'' to be a timed exclusive for HBO Max.

Post-launch

All eight films in the '' Harry Potter'' series were available to stream on the service on launch day, despite earlier reports indicating that the films, although produced by Warner Bros., would not be available due to a prior broadcast rights agreement with NBCUniversal. It was later announced that the films would be removed on August 25 and made available on NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock. However, it officially brought them back on September 1, 2021, after an adjustment in the agreement. On May 29, 2020, HBO Max acquired the exclusive streaming rights to ''The Big Bang Theory'' spin-off ''Young Sheldon''.

On June 9, 2020, ''Gone with the Wind'' was temporarily removed from HBO Max's library amid the George Floyd protests, following an op-ed in the ''Los Angeles Times'' by ''12 Years a Slave'' screenwriter John Ridley. On June 25, the film returned in its original form with, as suggested by Ridley, a new introduction by Turner Classic Movies host Jacqueline Stewart discussing the film's treatments of the American Civil War, the Reconstruction era, and American slavery of African people.

On June 27, 2020, it was revealed that DC Universe original ''Harley Quinn'' will stream its first two seasons on HBO Max. On June 29, 2020, HBO Max secured the exclusive streaming rights of the Oprah Winfrey Network series ''David Makes Man''. On September 18, 2020, it was announced that all DC Universe content would be migrating to HBO Max, including original shows like ''Titans'' and ''Young Justice'', which will have their newest seasons air exclusively on the service. In addition, both '' Doom Patrol'' and ''Harley Quinn'' have been renewed for third seasons exclusively for the service.

On October 28, 2020, it was announced that the 1990s series '' Tiny Toon Adventures'' would be rebooted for Cartoon Network and HBO Max as ''Tiny Toons Looniversity'', featuring older versions of the characters. Steven Spielberg is expected to return as executive producer. The show was given a two-season order.

In February 2021, it was announced that WarnerMedia's international preschool brand Cartoonito would launch in the United States via Cartoon Network and HBO Max later in the year, with a slate of 50 series by 2023.

In renewing his contract with WarnerMedia, Conan O'Brien announced plans to move to a weekly variety format on HBO Max from his nightly TBS show, ending a 28-year run on late-night television between NBC and TBS in June 2021.

In August 2021, Funimation, a subsidiary of Sony, purchased Crunchyroll from AT&T for $1.175 billion, with the intent to create a combined service that caters to anime entertainment. On January 1, 2022, HBO Max removed the Crunchyroll hub, instead redirecting subscribers to a "global animation" page that combines selected anime with other international animated films. Since then, the service has slowly started to remove anime from Crunchyroll's line up.

On November 22, 2021, Disney and WarnerMedia reached a deal to amend the pre-existing contract HBO had with 20th Century Studios to allow Disney+ or Hulu and HBO Max to share the streaming rights to half of 20th Century Studios' and Searchlight Pictures' 2022 theatrical slate in the United States during the pay-one window, with '' Ron's Gone Wrong'' being the first film under the deal, becoming available on both Disney+ and HBO Max on December 15, 2021. Disney will still have full streaming rights to any 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures films produced for Disney+ or Hulu, while the Disney deal with WarnerMedia for streaming 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures films on HBO Max will end in 2022, with Disney+ and Hulu assuming the full pay-one rights to those films in the future.

On February 15, 2022, it was announced that first-run episodes of ''South Park'' would move to Paramount+ beginning with season 27 in 2024, and the series library would move from HBO Max to the service in the United States in 2025.

On August 4, 2022, it was announced that selected Magnolia Network programs would become available on HBO Max in September 2022. Discovery+ will remain the main streaming home of its programming.

On October 7, 2022, it was announced that the HBO max original series ''Harley Quinn'' will have a Valentine's Day Special titled "''Harley Quinn: A Very Problematic Valentine’s Day Special"'' on February 23, 2023.

"": Warner Bros. same-day premieres

In late 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WarnerMedia moved two Warner Bros. films originally intended as major theatrical releases to either exclusive or simultaneous releases on HBO Max. '' The Witches'' was released exclusively on HBO Max in the U.S. on October 22, and ''Wonder Woman 1984'' debuted simultaneously in North American theaters and on HBO Max on December 25, although the latter was initially only available on the service for a month. Week-long free trials were discontinued in December 2020.

On December 3, 2020, it was announced that the studio's entire 2021 film lineup would see a simultaneous theatrical release and a one-month limited release on the streaming service, starting with '' The Little Things'' on January 29. Subsequent films released under the same-day theatrical/streaming window to date were ''Judas and the Black Messiah'' (February 12), '' Tom and Jerry'' (February 26), '' Godzilla vs. Kong'' (March 31), '' Mortal Kombat'' (April 23), ''Those Who Wish Me Dead'' (May 14), '' The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It'' (June 4), ''In the Heights'' (June 10), '' Space Jam: A New Legacy'' (July 16), '' The Suicide Squad'' (August 5), '' Reminiscence'' (August 20), ''Malignant'' (September 10), ''Cry Macho'' (September 17), ''The Many Saints of Newark'' (October 1), '' Dune'' (October 22), '' King Richard'' (November 19), and ''The Matrix Resurrections'' (December 22). Standard release windows applied to each film after their initial limited-run streaming release on the service; HBO Max would then reassume streaming rights to the aforementioned Warner Bros. films upon their respective pay television premieres on the linear HBO service in mid-to-late 2021 or 2022, depending on the scheduled start of their individual HBO exhibition agreements.

This decision, called "Project Popcorn" within Warner Bros., was met with backlash from filmmakers, production companies, the Directors Guild of America, the Creative Artists Agency, and movie theater owners as Warner Bros. had not informed anyone about their plan ahead of the announcement. Viewership of the films varied, with ''Mortal Kombat'' reaching 3.8 million, ''The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It'' totaling 1.6 million, and ''In the Heights'' totaling 693,000 (according to Samba TV, as WarnerMedia does not report viewership numbers for HBO Max).

Warner Bros. spent over $200million alone compensating talent for the shift to streaming; ''Deadline'' reported in January 2022 that such a business move "will never occur again given its high cost".

In March 2021, it was announced that Warner Bros. would discontinue same-day releases in 2022, as part of an agreement the studio reached with Cineworld (who operates Regal Cinemas) and will instead use a 45-day exclusive release window for theaters. ''The Matrix Resurrections'' was the final film released in 2021 as part of Project Popcorn. The 45-day release window for HBO Max was only used for two films ('' The Batman'' and '' Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore'') before it was reported in August 2022 that as part of a restructuring of Warner Bros' film distribution strategy following the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Inc, the length of the window would now be decided for each film on a case-by-case basis.

Sports

AT&T chairman and CEO Randall L. Stephenson did not rule out adding live sporting events from Turner Sports to HBO Max in the future.

* Turner Sports' broadcast rights to the National Hockey League as of the 2021–22 season includes an option for HBO Max to hold over-the-top streaming rights, including simulcasts of games aired on TNT, and games exclusive to the service. WarnerMedia executives stated upon the announcement of the contract that they were still exploring options for these rights.
* On March 1, 2022, Turner Sports announced an eight-year deal to hold rights to United States men's and women's national soccer team home matches, such as FIFA World Cup qualifying and international friendlies. This excludes FIFA and CONCACAF events, whose rights are held by Fox, and away matches, whose rights are held by whomever holds the rights to the home team's matches. It was stated that at least half the matches per-season will be exclusive to HBO Max.

Technologies and accessibility

At launch, HBO Max did not support 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, or Dolby Atmos, but support for these technologies were planned as "part of the HBO Max product roadmap". Support for 4K, HDR, and Atmos was added starting with the release of ''Wonder Woman 1984'', with WarnerMedia promising to add more content in these formats throughout 2021 and beyond.

The service provided closed captioning support at launch, but initially lacked support for audio description (AD) for those with visual impairments. In October 2020, the American Council of the Blind announced it had reached a settlement with WarnerMedia whereby at least 1,500 hours of HBO Max content will be available with AD by the end of March 2021, increasing to at least 6,000 hours by March 2023, along with other accessibility enhancements to the website and apps by September 2021. HBO Max later began rolling out AD on select titles on March 26, 2021.

Distribution

United States

The majority of active subscribers to the HBO pay TV service (which previously included HBO Go), and most customers that were subscribed to HBO Now at time of launch, can access 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.

On May 27, 2020, as part of an agreement with Time Warner that renewed its carriage contract for the Turner Broadcasting System networks and gave its over-the-top television service Sling TV distribution rights to the linear HBO channel, Dish Network secured an option to become a distribution partner for HBO Max following the exclusivity period with Apple. HBO content is also available as a premium add-on for DirecTV Stream and Hulu for the same $14.99 price as HBO Max.

In announcing HBO Max, WarnerMedia immediately confirmed that HBO subscribers on AT&T-owned platforms (including AT&T TV, DirecTV, U-verse

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