HBO Max could cost as little as $8: Analyst
HBO Max won’t launch until 2020 and no price has been announced, but analysts are already predicting how the latest entry in the streaming wars will position itself in the market.
Initial estimates put HBO Max at or above HBO’s premium pricing – at $15 per month, which would have made it the most expensive streaming platform – but UBS analyst John Hodulik released a research note suggesting otherwise, per FierceVideo.
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Hodulik now believes that competitive pressure and the need to develop a scalable pricing model will shape the development of HBO Max, possibly driving the cost to users down to $8 per month with ads and $12 for no commercial interruptions.
Whether the introduction of Max will disrupt HBO’s current service pricing, however, is unclear. “Distribution agreements complicate the pricing decision however and it is unclear whether lower pricing for Max would trigger rate resets on existing linear subs,” Hodulik wrote in his research note.
Netflix’s most popular plan clocks in at $13 per month, while more specialized services like Disney+ ($7) and Apple TV+ ($5, free for a year with purchase of a new Apple device) are significantly cheaper.
Hulu offers four levels of service: Basic ($5.99 per month), Premium ($11.99 per month), Basic + Live TV ($44.99 per month), and Premium + Live TV ($50.99 per month). Hulu Basic is ad-supported, while it's Premium service is almost completely commercial-free. Also, in the market place is CBS All-Access. The service - a mix of originals and the broadcast network's current and past primetime fare - offers a base plan ($5.99 per month) and a no ads version ($9.99-per-month).
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HBO Max will include the entire HBO library featuring everything from "Game of Thrones" to "Curb Your Enthusiasm." It will also be the home to series from HBO's sister networks also owned by WarnerMedia such as CNN and will be the streaming home to series from broadcast network The CW which shows such series as "Riverdale" and "Batwoman." It will also offer new original programming such as a reboot of "Gossip Girl" and star of The Big Bang Theory, Kaley Cuoco will produce and star in The Flight Attendant, a murder mystery.
More information about the service is expected to become available at AT&T’s WarnerMedia Day, scheduled for Oct. 29. The company’s stock is up more than 20 percent in 2019 but has tumbled 4 percent this week.
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