WarnerMedia officially announced the exact launch date of the HBO Max streaming service. A platform that will bring together more than 10,000 hours of video content, including classic and new films of Warner Bros. and HBO, will be launched on May 27, 2020, in the United States.
One of the most exclusive acquisitions of the platform is the famous Friends sitcom, which true fans can re-watch several times. Over the last few years, the rights to the show belonged to the competitor service Netflix, however, with the launch of its own platform, WarnerMedia decided to buy the rights for $425 million.
Liam Hunt
Unfortunately, the actors from Friends will not have time to star in a special episode dedicated to the opening of the service. Still, they are guaranteed to do it as soon as the situation with the coronavirus quarantine allows. But right from the start, a similar but more modern sitcom The Big Bang Theory will also be available. One billion dollars was invested in the purchase of the series. Moreover, anime from the Japanese Studio Ghibli will also be presented on the service.
Existing HBO Now and HBO Go subscribers (there are about 10 million of them in the US) will get access to HBO Max for free. A similar offer will be available for AT&T users with the most expensive tariff packages, providing access to large mobile Internet packages and video services.
For others, the cost of a subscription to HBO Max will be $14.99 per month, which makes it one of the most expensive apps for the US market. All competitors, including Netflix, Disney +, Peacock, and others are cheaper. Nevertheless, the creators of the service expect to collect 50 million subscribers by 2024.
The start of the service may not be so successful due to the lack of new original series since they did not have time to finish them because of the coronavirus pandemic, but gradually the service will receive a large number of subscribers thanks to the excellent library of classic films and series.
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