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 a year hiatus due to COVID, the LA Auto Show is back in-person from November 19-28. The event will feature automakers from around the world as they introduce their latest concepts and production vehicles. David Fortin, head of consumer marketing for the LA Auto Show, joins Cheddar News to preview the event.
The major markets took a breather Tuesday, with the Dow, S&P, Nasdaq, and Russell 2000 all finishing lower after notching record closes on Monday. Rhys Williams, Chief Strategist at Spouting Rock Asset Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he provides his biggest takeaways from the day's activity.
As major social media and tech companies like Facebook and Microsoft announce plans for metaverse technology, chipmakers like Nvidia, AMD, Intel, and more stand to benefit as the technology rolls out and evolves. But who will take the lead and benefit the most? Paul Meeks, Portfolio Manager at Independent Solutions Wealth Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the metaverse chipmaker race, who could come out on top, the timeline of how this sector will heat up, and more.
Jason Moser, Senior Analyst at The Motley Fool, breaks down AMC's third quarter earnings and discusses the future of the theater chain despite low ticket sales.
IBM's spinoff, Kyndryl, is officially an independent public company. The $19 billion business is now listed on the NYSE under the ticker KD, becoming one of the largest players in the IT services market. David Wyshner, CFO of Kyndryl, joined Cheddar to discuss what this milestone means for the company moving forward.
Emma Searson, an author on the just-released Renewables on the Rise report and the director, 100% Renewable Campaign at Environment America, joined Cheddar to discuss the rapidly growing renewable energy sector. Between 2011 and 2020, the report shows that wind, solar, and geothermal energy production grew about 15 percent annually and that wind and solar alone account for 11 percent of electricity in the country. "There are a few really important drivers of the renewable energy progress that we're seeing all across the country," Searson said, highlighting falling prices, technology improvements, and supportive policies.
Wendy O, host of 'The O Show' joins Cheddar News to discuss the recent rally from cryptocurrency, Ether. She also discussed incoming New York City mayor Eric Adams wanting to teach kids crypto in schools.
Professional sports is facing a reckoning right now over several stories painting an ugly picture of a toxic work environment, encompassing multiple teams in multiple leagues and dealing with different issues.
This week, the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks ousted their general manager and senior director of hockey operations after an investigation confirmed former player Kyle Beach's claims that the team's former video coach Brad Aldrich sexual assaulted him back in 2010, with upper management ignoring his claims until after the team won the Stanley Cup that season. Last night, Joel Quenneville, now the coach of the Florida Panthers but Chicago's coach that season, stepped down from his post.
This comes just a few weeks after the NFL was rocked by leaked emails showing now-former Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden using racist, sexist and homophobic language. He resigned soon after the emails came to light. We can't forget, though, that those emails come from a much broader investigation of the toxic work environment in the offices of the Washington Football Team. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week the league wouldn't publicly release anything from its investigation of the team, but lawyers for many of the women interviewed in the case say they want a public report.
And last January, just one month after hiring him, the New York Mets had to fire then-General manager Jared Porter, who admitted to sending explicit, unsolicited texts and images to a female reporter in 2016 when he worked for the Chicago Cubs. ESPN had been in possession of the texts since 2017, but the woman in question asked the network not to run the story out of fear her career would be harmed. She only reached back out to ESPN after she left the field of journalism altogether. Porter has been banned from the sport through next season.
If you believe in the phrase "where there's smoke, there's fire," professional sports is a five-alarm blaze.
Julie DiCaro, senior writer and editor at Deadspin, joins None of the Above to discuss.
Curaleaf CEO Joe Bayern joined Cheddar's "Closing Bell" to discuss the cannabis company's Q3 earnings report, which came in under expectations and included widening losses. Bayern discussed taking a hit on profitability based on the slower-than-expected expansion in some Northeast markets. While the company reduced its fiscal guidance for 2021 due to a general slowing of the cannabis market, he did note that he still sees much room for growth in 2022 and beyond.
