Ad-supported HBO Max option coming in June

Posted:
in General Discussion
AT&T announced on Friday that it plans to launch a cheaper ad-supported version of HBO Max in June.

HBO Max will offer a cheaper ad-supported subscription starting in June
HBO Max will offer a cheaper ad-supported subscription starting in June


The telecom giant has only released minimal detail on the plan. It hasn't yet announced pricing or an exact release date for the upcoming cheaper tier.

AT&T expects the ad-supported HBO Max tier to combine with global expansion to drive subscriber and revenue growth in 2021. HBO Max will launch in 60 markets outside of the US in 2021. These will include 39 Latin America and the Caribbean territories in late June and 21 European territories in the second half of 2021.

The company anticipates ending the year with between 67 and 70 million subscribers. The service had around 61 million subscribers at the end of 2020.

The company expects its HBO unit to more than double its revenue in the next five years.


"Zach Snyder's Justice League" is one of the high-profile HBO Max exclusives coming in 2021


In response to the pandemic, Warner Bros is releasing 17 films, including "The Matrix 4" and "Dune" to HBO Max for an entire month alongside theatrical releases. While some film industry veterans have criticized the move, fearing it will hasten the demise of the traditional movie theater, it also allows movie fans to see blockbusters at home.

HBO Max launched in May 2020. The service offers the entire back catalog of HBO series and films and extra content from parent company Warner Media. The library also includes classic series like "Friends," "Sesame Street," "Rick and Morty," and "Big Bang Theory."

The service is available as a standalone app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.

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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    HBO Max appears to cover the US, Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe... but not Canada. According to the release.
  • Reply 2 of 13
    M68000M68000 Posts: 719member
    So,  AT&T owns HBO it seems?   They can throw money and efforts around on some things but when it comes to important things like scammers who spoof phone numbers AT&T is not able or interested in doing anything???
  • Reply 3 of 13
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    M68000 said:
    So,  AT&T ... can throw money and efforts around on some things but when it comes to important things like scammers who spoof phone numbers AT&T is not able or interested in doing anything???
    Just as it is impossible to block all scammers' emails, it's also impossible to block all scammers' phone calls. Especially robocalls.

    For the last three years the number of calls I get on my cell number (from Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and from telephone numbers that share the first three digits of my own phone number) has skyrocketed, but then it drops from time to time. I figure my cellular provider is doing battle with the enemy and I know it's not an easy battle to win. I sense they are trying.

    One thing I find curious is that scammers never call me during the late night hours. Most likely they avoid waking people up because doing that doesn't get the target in a very friendly mood. So I must thanks all the world's phone scammers for respecting my nights.
  • Reply 4 of 13
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    M68000 said:
    So,  AT&T owns HBO it seems?   They can throw money and efforts around on some things but when it comes to important things like scammers who spoof phone numbers AT&T is not able or interested in doing anything???
    https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/black-or-white
  • Reply 5 of 13
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 12,834member
    I wouldn't be so opposed to ads -- if you could fast-forward them. Just like on a Tivo or cable TV HD. But unskippable ads are complete BS. The only reason you couldn't skip ads on broadcast TV is because they were transmitted in real-time. Now, there is no reason except to torture the viewer. Nope. 
    baconstang
  • Reply 6 of 13
    M68000M68000 Posts: 719member
    M68000 said:
    So,  AT&T ... can throw money and efforts around on some things but when it comes to important things like scammers who spoof phone numbers AT&T is not able or interested in doing anything???
    Just as it is impossible to block all scammers' emails, it's also impossible to block all scammers' phone calls. Especially robocalls.

    For the last three years the number of calls I get on my cell number (from Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and from telephone numbers that share the first three digits of my own phone number) has skyrocketed, but then it drops from time to time. I figure my cellular provider is doing battle with the enemy and I know it's not an easy battle to win. I sense they are trying.

    One thing I find curious is that scammers never call me during the late night hours. Most likely they avoid waking people up because doing that doesn't get the target in a very friendly mood. So I must thanks all the world's phone scammers for respecting my nights.
    I’m not talking about telemarketers...  I’m talking about the weakness in the phone systems to allow fraudulent and fake phone numbers to show up.  The telecom companies should be embarrassed with their infrastructure. 
  • Reply 7 of 13
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    I wouldn't be so opposed to ads -- if you could fast-forward them. Just like on a Tivo or cable TV HD. But unskippable ads are complete BS. The only reason you couldn't skip ads on broadcast TV is because they were transmitted in real-time. Now, there is no reason except to torture the viewer. Nope. 
    If you could skip or fast forward ads then there would no reason to offer the ad-based service in the first place. What is so hard for you to understand this? What part of the ad business model are you incapable of understanding? Content distributors charge networks to play their content. Networks sell advertising to pay for playing the content OR they charge a subscription fee for eliminating the ads. Nothing is free, either watch the ads, pay for the subscription, or don’t watch the content. Broadcast TV is not free, you watch the ads to pay for it. Nothing is free unless you steal it as so many pirates do by justifying their thievery because something costs too much in their opinion.
  • Reply 8 of 13
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    M68000 said:
    M68000 said:
    So,  AT&T ... can throw money and efforts around on some things but when it comes to important things like scammers who spoof phone numbers AT&T is not able or interested in doing anything???
    Just as it is impossible to block all scammers' emails, it's also impossible to block all scammers' phone calls. Especially robocalls.

    For the last three years the number of calls I get on my cell number (from Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and from telephone numbers that share the first three digits of my own phone number) has skyrocketed, but then it drops from time to time. I figure my cellular provider is doing battle with the enemy and I know it's not an easy battle to win. I sense they are trying.

    One thing I find curious is that scammers never call me during the late night hours. Most likely they avoid waking people up because doing that doesn't get the target in a very friendly mood. So I must thanks all the world's phone scammers for respecting my nights.
    I’m not talking about telemarketers...  I’m talking about the weakness in the phone systems to allow fraudulent and fake phone numbers to show up.  The telecom companies should be embarrassed with their infrastructure. 
    How exactly do you propose that telecom company A in country B validate the accuracy of a number from telecom company C in country D? I have no idea how you expect that to work. Is your telecom company supposed to validate numbers from foreign countries before they patch the call through to you? How would it validate anything? Educate me. I'd love to know how it should work.
  • Reply 9 of 13
    baconstangbaconstang Posts: 1,103member
    If a call comes in, it better have a name pop up or I let it go to voice mail.  Problem solved (for me).

    If ads show up on HBO Now, I outtie.
  • Reply 10 of 13
    M68000M68000 Posts: 719member
    M68000 said:
    M68000 said:
    So,  AT&T ... can throw money and efforts around on some things but when it comes to important things like scammers who spoof phone numbers AT&T is not able or interested in doing anything???
    Just as it is impossible to block all scammers' emails, it's also impossible to block all scammers' phone calls. Especially robocalls.

    For the last three years the number of calls I get on my cell number (from Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and from telephone numbers that share the first three digits of my own phone number) has skyrocketed, but then it drops from time to time. I figure my cellular provider is doing battle with the enemy and I know it's not an easy battle to win. I sense they are trying.

    One thing I find curious is that scammers never call me during the late night hours. Most likely they avoid waking people up because doing that doesn't get the target in a very friendly mood. So I must thanks all the world's phone scammers for respecting my nights.
    I’m not talking about telemarketers...  I’m talking about the weakness in the phone systems to allow fraudulent and fake phone numbers to show up.  The telecom companies should be embarrassed with their infrastructure. 
    How exactly do you propose that telecom company A in country B validate the accuracy of a number from telecom company C in country D? I have no idea how you expect that to work. Is your telecom company supposed to validate numbers from foreign countries before they patch the call through to you? How would it validate anything? Educate me. I'd love to know how it should work.
    It’s called teamwork,  company A and company C work with rest of their industry to fix the issue.  It may need to be a combination of hardware and software, but there has to be a better way than allowing the staggering amount of fraud that continues to be going on,  the crooks must be laughing at how stupid the phone companies are..  how can it be possible for somebody from another country to  call my cellphone with some phony number that appears to be in my local area or country? it is complete insanity that this continues.  apparently,  not enough leaders at these multi billion dollar companies seem to care about such things.  If it affected their “earnings per share” you can bet they would care then, right?  LOL
    gatorguy
  • Reply 11 of 13
    22july201322july2013 Posts: 3,564member
    M68000 said:
    M68000 said:
    M68000 said:
    So,  AT&T ... can throw money and efforts around on some things but when it comes to important things like scammers who spoof phone numbers AT&T is not able or interested in doing anything???
    Just as it is impossible to block all scammers' emails, it's also impossible to block all scammers' phone calls. Especially robocalls.

    For the last three years the number of calls I get on my cell number (from Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and from telephone numbers that share the first three digits of my own phone number) has skyrocketed, but then it drops from time to time. I figure my cellular provider is doing battle with the enemy and I know it's not an easy battle to win. I sense they are trying.

    One thing I find curious is that scammers never call me during the late night hours. Most likely they avoid waking people up because doing that doesn't get the target in a very friendly mood. So I must thanks all the world's phone scammers for respecting my nights.
    I’m not talking about telemarketers...  I’m talking about the weakness in the phone systems to allow fraudulent and fake phone numbers to show up.  The telecom companies should be embarrassed with their infrastructure. 
    How exactly do you propose that telecom company A in country B validate the accuracy of a number from telecom company C in country D? I have no idea how you expect that to work. Is your telecom company supposed to validate numbers from foreign countries before they patch the call through to you? How would it validate anything? Educate me. I'd love to know how it should work.
    It’s called teamwork,  company A and company C work with rest of their industry to fix the issue.  It may need to be a combination of hardware and software, but there has to be a better way than allowing the staggering amount of fraud that continues to be going on,  the crooks must be laughing at how stupid the phone companies are..  how can it be possible for somebody from another country to  call my cellphone with some phony number that appears to be in my local area or country? it is complete insanity that this continues.  apparently,  not enough leaders at these multi billion dollar companies seem to care about such things.  If it affected their “earnings per share” you can bet they would care then, right?  LOL
    There are nearly 200 countries in the world, and scammers will base their operations in the one with the least compliance (either in terms of laws or in terms of policing those laws.) I don't see how you can get 200 countries to change their laws to make YOU happy. Plus, some countries are just too poor to deal with scammers.

    I could take your ideas more seriously if you said that the US should block all calls coming from certain foreign countries. Like most of Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America. Is that what you want?
  • Reply 12 of 13
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    lkrupp said:
    I wouldn't be so opposed to ads -- if you could fast-forward them. Just like on a Tivo or cable TV HD. But unskippable ads are complete BS. The only reason you couldn't skip ads on broadcast TV is because they were transmitted in real-time. Now, there is no reason except to torture the viewer. Nope. 
    If you could skip or fast forward ads then there would no reason to offer the ad-based service in the first place. What is so hard for you to understand this? What part of the ad business model are you incapable of understanding? Content distributors charge networks to play their content. Networks sell advertising to pay for playing the content OR they charge a subscription fee for eliminating the ads. Nothing is free, either watch the ads, pay for the subscription, or don’t watch the content. Broadcast TV is not free, you watch the ads to pay for it. Nothing is free unless you steal it as so many pirates do by justifying their thievery because something costs too much in their opinion.
    Exactly. What annoys me the most about this though, is that eventually we will pay a subscription and still get ads during the show. It is inevitable as the MBA arseholes running these businesses have to constantly come up with new ways to monetise we, the customer, to justify their jobs.
    they know it too, hence baby steps, baby steps.
  • Reply 13 of 13
    I wouldn't be so opposed to ads -- if you could fast-forward them. Just like on a Tivo or cable TV HD. But unskippable ads are complete BS. The only reason you couldn't skip ads on broadcast TV is because they were transmitted in real-time. Now, there is no reason except to torture the viewer. Nope. 

    Any ad-supported tier would work like YouTube. You'd probably be able to skip them after a few seconds, but after a while you will get ads you cannot skip. 
    This will be nothing like Tivo, since you cannot download something for later viewing, ads and all, and then fast forward the ads when you watch it. 
    This is similar to real time TV broadcasts, since it is streaming. 

    In short, the ads will definitely be a pain and wouldn't be worth the few bucks you save on the subscription. 
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