• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, February 6, 2020

AT&T’s WarnerMedia is launching a studio dedicated to producing original feature content for the HBO Max streaming service, set to debut in May.

Dubbed Warner Max, the studio is a joint venture between HBO Max and Warner Bros. Picture Group.

The studio’s initial plan calls for producing eight to 10 mid-budget movies per year.

Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema will continue to create mid-budget fare for traditional theatrical distribution, while Warner Max “will create a new pipeline for filmmakers looking to make a particular type of film or connect with a specific audience that would be best reached in the streaming environment,” according to the announcement.

The first Warner Max titles will begin appearing on the new SVOD sometime during 2020.

Warner Bros. will handle distribution of the studio’s titles in all media and territories beyond HBO Max.

Warner Max will be overseen by Kevin Reilly, HBO Max chief content officer and president, TNT, TBS, & truTV, and Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros. Picture Group.

The two will share greenlight responsibility for Warner Max films and work with Picture Group COO Carolyn Blackwood and HBO Max Head of Original Content Sarah Aubrey.

Jessie Henderson, HBO Max’s executive vice president of original feature films, will expand her role to serve as day-to-day head of the label and liaison between HBO Max and Warner Bros. Pictures Group. She will report jointly to Aubrey and Blackwood.

The new studio will use Warner Bros. Pictures’ existing infrastructure, including physical production, and leverage WarnerMedia’s feature film expertise, library, resources and relationships.

“We are going to deliver a collaborative and lean process for talent, make a range of quality films, and provide a platform for each of them to have cultural impact,” stated Reilly. HBO Max “will be home to a robust collection of the legendary Warner Bros. film library,” as well as a new slate of original Warner Max films, he said.

Warner Max is the latest aggressive original content development move as media companies jockey to grab and maintain share in the so-called streaming wars.

Last month, NBC News announced that it was shuttering its Peacock Productions and replacing it with NBC News Studios, a new unit dedicated to producing premium documentaries, docu-series, scripted programs and other content for emerging platforms.