“O.itemList.length” “- this.config.text.ariaShown
“This.config.text.ariaFermé”
HBO Max, THE AT-T-owned streaming service that combines HBO with WarnerMedia content, now has 4.1 million subscribers who have activated their Max accounts since its launch on May 27. Together, HBO and HBO Max reached a total of 36.3 million subscribers at the end of the quarter, according to statements made through today’s earning call from AT-T CEO John Stankey. This figure is 5% higher compared to the 34.6 million subscribers that households had in combination at the end of last year.
The 4.1 million figure represents those who activated their accounts out of a total of 26.5 million subscribers who had HBO Max. Of those 26.5 million, 23.5 million are wholesale sales (MPVD) and 3 million are retail sales (directly to the consumer). However, the 4.1 million do not come with the full base of 3 million subscribers. *
WarnerMedia also noted that there are 1 million wholesale HBO Max subscribers through one of AT’s wireless plans or through AT-T’s broadband and pay TV service provided.
Aleven though still early for HBO Max, those figures mean that the vast majority of hbo classic consumers have not yet tried HBO Max, even if their use is free. Currently, HBO consumers can authenticate with HBO Max account information. HBO Now subscribers, meanwhile, are updated to Max on Hulu, mobile apps, some ISPs and the HBO Now site.
HBO’s strategy, from the customer’s perspective, has been confusing. HBO is known as a premium channel with mainly adult content. This channel had been distributed on mobile devices such as HBO GO for classic pay TV customers and HBO Now for over-the-top users. With the release of HBO Max, the purpose of turning HBO into a broader offering for the whole family, similar to Netflix. To do this, HBO, WarnerMedia and other authorized content have been grouped under one roof.
ATT said HBO Max consumers spent, on average, 70% more time watching the service weekly, compared to HBO Now. He also highlighted the popularity of its original content, noting that its six new originals were among the 25 most viewed series on the platform. By August, HBO Max will have 21 new original series on the platform.
But WarnerMedia still wants to distribute “standard” HBO to its larger, existing customer base, and has a number of deals in place to do so across a variety of streaming TV services, like Hulu, and platforms like Apple TV, in addition to numerous pay TV providers. In addition, HBO is sold as an add-on premium subscription across some platforms, like Amazon and Roku.
This makes it difficult for consumers what edition of HBO they can get and where it will work.
That significant challenge is made worse by the fact that WarnerMedia has not yet been able to ink deals for HBO Max with the two top streaming media platform providers in the U.S.: Amazon and Roku, which control 70% of the market. That means consumers who have heard of the new service won’t be able to find the app on these devices.
Stankey addressed this factor by targeting investors.
“We’ve tried several times to make HBO Max available to all consumers who use Amazon Fire devices, adding consumers who have purchased HBO through Amazon,” he said. “Unfortunately, Amazon has taken a technique to treat HBO Max and its consumers the way they have chosen to treat other facilities and their consumers.”
The comments, which come with any mention of Roku, come just days before Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos testifies to the Antitrust Judicial Subcommittee, along with the CEOs of Apple, Google and Facebook, as a component of the Committee’s ongoing investigation into the potential. anti-competitive practices in the virtual market.
One of the Committee’s considerations is the validity of generation corporations in their virtual markets, where they set conditions, prohibit the distribution of programs and services, and charge commissions from corporations that compete with theirs.
AT&T’s issue with Amazon, in this case, has to do with how it wants to distribute HBO Max across the media platforms. With its shift in strategy, AT&T aims to offer consumers a standalone app, similar to Netflix — as it does now on Apple TV and Android TV. But Amazon and Roku also want to sell subscriptions to HBO Max like they currently do for HBO through the Amazon Prime Video Channels platform and Roku’s Premium Subscription platform on The Roku Channel.
With Roku’s investment in The Roku Channel, it has distanced itself from being the impartial platform it once was, as it is now motivated to participate in agreements that gain advantages for their own goals in The Roku Channel’s underwriting market, as are other non-impartial players. like Amazon. It’s also not a hbo Max challenge. NBCU’s new streaming service, Peacock, was also unable to offer Roku and Fire TV at launch, for similar reasons. Unfortunately, the customer is the one who ultimately loses here, while the tech giants are suffering not only for the money, but also by owning the long-term relationship with the visitor.
Without distribution, AT’s WarnerMedia can be challenged to its goals for HBO Max.
The company, however, says it is still on its way from 50 million to 55 million HBO Max subscribers in the U.S. Until 2025. As a component of this strategy, WarnerMedia also plans to launch HBO Max worldwide and deliver a lower-cost ad. -Supported edition of the service next year.
Correction, 23/07/20: Because subscriber numbers about revenue were discussed, some nuances were overlooked in terms of breakdown. We’ve fixed this to be more precise.