HBO Max costs $15, same as the HBO Now streaming service it’s supposed to replace, with discounts after the launch limited to some AT&T customers.
Entertainment companies like AT&T’s WarnerMedia are broadly shifting to streaming video, following in Netflix’ wake, as more people drop their traditional cable bundles.
But people will have to decide if it’s worth paying up for a new video service on top of the “foundational” services many already have: Netflix, the heaps of video that come with an Amazon Prime membership, Hulu and, increasingly, Disney Plus, Nason said.
The company has predicted 50 million U.S. subscribers by 2025, building on a base of 34 million current HBO customers, who pay their cable company for the channel and the HBO Go app or who subscribe to the HBO Now standalone streaming service.
It’s easy to prompt HBO Now users to switch to Max if they signed up directly through HBO, and many big cable companies have agreed to promote HBO Max to their existing HBO customers.