WarnerMedia's new streaming service HBO Max is already leading the pack — in terms of price.
Though viewers will need to shell out more for the service than its competitors, the price might actually be a bargain. HBO customers already pay $14.99 a month. With HBO Max, people will pay the same amount but get more bespoke programming and 10,000 hours of previously released movies and television shows.
WarnerMedia held an investor day for its new streaming service on Tuesday, unveiling more details about the highly anticipated platform. HBO Max will be half focused on younger millennial programming, with the other half focused on entertainment for children and adults.
The service, slated to launch in May 2020, will be the home for exclusive shows based on top properties including the Game of Thrones prequel House of Targaryen and a Gossip Girl" sequel. It will also have a rebooted version of *The Boondocks and a musical series set in the Grease 1950s universe, as well as *Sesame Street" and spin-offs from the franchise.
WarnerMedia also has a goal of HBO Max reaching 50 million users by 2025. It already has a head start, given that HBO already has 37 million domestic subscribers and standalone HBO Now customers will get HBO Max for the same price.
While the service does cost three times the price of the upcoming Apple TV+, which is set to launch on November 1 at $4.99, HBO Max will come with a large library of shows and movies. Customers will also be able to find TV series including South Park, Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and The Big Bang Theory. DC movies including Joker will be available at launch, among other titles.
In order to run some of this content exclusively, WarnerMedia has pulled some of the high-profile content from competitors like Netflix and Hulu. That should give HBO Max a competitive boost, considering that many of these shows are proven hits and household names.
In addition, HBO Max gets benefits from the strong HBO brand. Many consumers equate HBO with quality and award-winning programming. WarnerMedia plans to double its annual spend on HBO content to $2 billion in 2020. It's still a fraction of the $15 billion Netflix is set to spend on shows and movies this year. Even with the smaller budget, HBO dominated at the Emmys this year, taking home 34 top honors. Netflix nabbed 27, while Amazon had 15.
Still, it's not all smooth sailing ahead for HBO Max. The company could potentially dilute the brand name if it expands to shows and movies that aren't up to the same standard loyal HBO audiences are used to.
It's also the late entrant to a marketplace that will already have Apple and Disney's new streaming platforms, as well as Netflix, Hulu, and the myriad of hyperspecific streaming services that cater to niche tastes. While the $15 price point isn't unreasonable, viewers may be checking their wallets by next May to see if they have enough left in the budget to add HBO Max.
After being among the hardest-hit industries by the pandemic, restaurants are still having a hard time staying afloat, with owners claiming that business is worse now due to closures from staff shortages and customer decline than it was three months ago. Mike Whatley, vice president of state affairs and grassroots advocacy for the National Restaurant Association, spoke to Cheddar News about how the sector is reaching out to lawmakers for help. "Working with Senators Wicker, Sinema, and a whole host of bipartisan leaders, we're trying to get the Restaurant Revitalization Fund replenished," Whatley said.
Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, founder of Strategy + Rest,
joins Cheddar News to discuss UK's pilot four-day workweek and its impact on workers' mental health.
Ed Gaussen, co-founder and CEO of Mantra Health, and Matt Kennedy, co-founder and COO of Mantra Health, joined Cheddar News to discuss the digital mental health startup's latest funding round and plans for the future.
Actor and singer Chrissy Metz, who stars as Kate Pearson in "This Is Us," is partnering with Capital One Auto Navigator to share her story of purchasing her first car to help make car buying easier for others. "For me, I know a car was so important because of course it took me to the auditions to get me to the place I have today," she said. "But it also means empowerment and freedom and accessibility, and I think everybody is deserving and in need of that." Metz also discussed the final season of her hit show, noting that expectations for the finale "will probably be exceeded."
Tire manufacturer Michelin is partnering with the popular video game "The Sims FreePlay" in order to meet teens where they are to promote driving safety. Michelin North America Chairman and President Alexis Garcin joined Cheddar News to discuss how the #GoldenGauge program integrates with the game. "If you're a gamer yourself or your kids, then while you're driving and moving on the application, you will find a Michelin billboard, and if you engage with that billboard, then you will get some advice about how tires are critical for your safety on the road," Garcin explained. *Updated with the full title of 'The Sims FreePlay' and a typo fix in the name of Alexis Garcin.*
The video game industry has come a long way from the first commercialized 3D video game in 1980, but it still has a long way to go. Video game creators have recently been called out for not having realistic Black hairstyles in their games and graphic artists are now taking matters into their own hands by creating The Open Source Afro Hair Library. Jovan Wilson, 3D artist and resident for The Open Source Afro Hair Library, joined All Hands to discuss.
After reporting record deliveries in Q4, expectations are high for Tesla's Q4 earnings call. Garrett Nelson, senior analyst and VP of equity research at CFRA, joined Cheddar News to discuss predictions about the report and what he sees as the emphasis on the EV maker's future. "We think the focal point of the release is really going to be on their guidance for 2022, the timing of the ramp-up of their new factories in Texas and Germany in the face of these chip shortages and supply chain issues, and also next steps in its long-term growth plans," he noted.
