• by Wayne Friedman , April 12, 2023

Warner Bros. Discovery is rebranding its premium streamer as a bigger service under the name “Max” -- the platform that had been known as HBO Max since its inception in 2019 -- by including discovery+ programming.

The new “Max” will start up on May 23 -- offering TV and movies from HBO Originals, Warner Bros. films, Max Originals, the DC Universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, kids content, as well as programming from Discovery’s cable TV network brands including HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, and ID.

Warner Bros Discovery's other premium streamer, discovery+, will continue as a separate service.

Consumer pricing for “Max Ad-Lite” -- its limited advertising supported service -- will be at $9.99/month. The company’s “Max Ad Free” -- its advertising-free platform -- is at $15.99/month.

The most expensive option -- Max Ultimate Ad Free -- which offers up top drawer 4K quality TV transmissions, as four concurrent streams -- is $19.99/month. Lessor-priced Max Ad-Lite and Max Ad Free deliver two concurrent streams each.

Existing HBO Max subscribers will still have access to their current plan features for a minimum of six months following launch.

The new “Max” will include a forthcoming Max Original’ “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight” -- a prequel series to the big popular HBO Original series “Game of Thrones”.

Additionally, there will be an “Harry Potter” TV series, an adaptation of the original book series by J.K. Rowling, who will serve as executive producer.

Warner Bros. Discovery “Max” intent, according to analysts, is to offer a broader content -- full range premium streamer, more than just incorporating content from HBO, the long-time premium cable TV network.

At the same time, company executives have increasingly moved to make HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery movies and content available non-exclusively to better monetize revenues from its TV and movie content.
“Max should help put Discovery+ content in front of a younger audience that has previously been underexposed, while also creating a much larger content catalog for current HBO Max viewers,” says Dallas Lawrence, senior vp/head of communications & Brand at Samba TV.
He adds: “At this stage in the streaming wars, scaled and diverse content is king to keeping and attracting subscribers."