Since Discovery’s purchase of WarnerMedia, there has been a lot of clamor of the future of its flagship streaming services Discovery+ and HBO Max. While Warner Bros. Discovery executives set out to merge the platforms from the onset, in recent months, the company has seemed to backtrack their plans.
Well, now we know more about the company’s streaming goals.
As was reported earlier, HBO Max is becoming Max as of May 23rd in the US. Other regions will get Max later this year or next year. Settings and watchlists will migrate, but apps will need to be updated or redownloaded while the official website will be https://www.max.com/ instead of the current https://www.hbomax.com/ URL.
Also as indicated previously, Discovery+ will not be disappearing and folding into Max. Some Discovery/Discovery+ content will be available on Max, which will join the current HBO Max lineup of HBO titles, Max Originals, selections from Warner Bros.’ catalog and associated brands, and more. The rebranded service will come with interface and usability improvements, and “an average of more than 40 new titles and TV show seasons every month”.
More 4K content is coming, including Warner Bros. Discovery’s movies after their theatrical run. To watch 4K content, though, new subscribers will need to pay for the Ultimate Ad-Free tier at $19.99 a month or $199.99 a year. This level also comes with Dolby Atmos sound on select titles, 4 simultaneous streams, and up to 100 offline downloads.
According to the company, current HBO Max subscribers will continue with their pricing plan and benefits “for at least 6 months after Max launches”. This only applies to those who have a subscription directly through HBO Max and not a TV, wireless, or other outside provider.
Otherwise, new subscribers can choose Ultimate Ad-Free, With Ads for $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year for 2 simultaneous streams, or Ad-Free for $15.99 a month or $149.99 a year to lose the ads and gain up to 30 offline downloads.
It is a little surprising Discovery+ isn’t being offered as an add-on for an additional lower price for Max subscribers. Some Discovery content is going to be available as part of a Max subscription, so a dollar or so off of Discovery+’s $4.99 a month (or $6.99 a month without ads) could entice some additional subscribers to the service. However, Discovery+ subscribers will get special offers to join Max.
For those who aren’t interested in Discovery’s catalog, the fact the service isn’t being folded into Max and forced a price increase is a relief. After all, the price just went up at the beginning of the year.
But current subscribers are on notice their subscription package is likely to have an end-of-the-year or beginning-of-the-year price increase and/or trimmed benefits. Those on Ad-Free and With Ads are eventually going to be downgraded from three simultaneous streams to two. 4K is going to becoming Ultimate Ad-Free exclusive, so current Ad-Free plan members will have to decide between paying more or settling for 1080p picture quality. But considering the current 4K list is mostly limited to theatrical movies from the last couple of years, Max is going to have to greatly expand their 4K catalog to make Ultimate Ad-Free worth it. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and The Dark Knight trilogy are named titles getting 4K versions on Max, and of course there are the upcoming films, but since ultra HD is an exclusive benefit to Ultimate, the list needs to be longer.
Otherwise, the Studio Ghibli films remain on HBO Max, but outside of that, anime continues to be deprioritized. A lot of the current series are likely holdovers from an intercompany deal when Crunchyroll and HBO Max were both under the AT&T umbrella, but the Crunchyroll section was removed a while back and Adult Swim pulled their co-productions with Crunchyroll on their streaming platform. Warner Bros. Discovery has some incentive to include anime as Adult Swim still continues their weekly Toonami block, but considering how much from Warner Bros.’ own line has been removed from HBO Max, who knows what other cost-cutting measures Max will undergo in favor of its own properties.
But anime fans who enjoy the rest of HBO Max may want to subscribe in the next few weeks to grandfather some of the current benefits like 4K content and three simultaneous streams. But I would probably advise to go with a month-to-month plan even though there are no savings. If you go with an annual plan, your perks may be slashed halfway through so that you end up overpaying compared to the other tiers.
Personally, while I enjoyed HBO Max, I’m not interested in signing up before or after the Max switch. There’s stuff I’d like to rewatch or watch for the first time, but as companies are finding out, people are suffering from streaming fatigue with all the price increases and options — both paid and free. At least Warner Bros. Discovery got the hint before they folded Discovery+, but it was something they should have realized even before then.