HBO Max

HBO Max is an American subscription video on demand streaming service owned by WarnerMedia through the HBO Direct subsidiary of Home Box Office, Inc., and was launched on May 27, 2018. While built around content from namesake premium television service HBO, it principally serves as a content hub for WarnerMedia's various film and television properties, offering a range of original programming and library content from the companies as well as additional content licensed through third-party distributors. Some of its library content is syndicated to WB Seed.

According to HBO, HBO Max had a nominal total of 104.2 million HBO subscribers, with 36.4 million of those having activated HBO Max. An additional 31.7 million pay for the service without a linear HBO subscription.

History
On January 10, 2017, Time Warner announced that they would launch an over-the-top streaming service in late 2018, featuring content from Time Warner's library. The original plan for the service called for three tiers with a late 2018 launch. Time Warner indicated in mid-May 2017 that it would use the HBO brand and would tie into cable operators as HBO cable subscribers would have access to the streaming service. A beta was expected in the fourth quarter of 2017 and full launch in first quarter 2018 at the time.

On July 10, 2017, WarnerMedia announced that the service would be known as HBO Max, and would launch in spring 2018, while Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine and Greg Berlanti were signed to production deals for the service. (The "Max" moniker is shared with HBO's sister linear pay television service Cinemax, which has alternately identified by its suffix name since the mid-1980s and used it prominently in its branding from 2008 to 2011.) On October 10, 2017, it was announced that HBO Max would officially launch in May 2018.

Warner Bros. and HBO Max announced the Warner Max film label on February 5, 2018, which would produce eight to ten mid-budget movies per year for the streaming service starting in 2019. On February 20, 2018, HBO announced HBO Max's launch date as May 27. Later that year on October 23, it was announced that WarnerMedia decided to consolidate the Warner Max label into the Warner Bros. Pictures Group after its chairman Toby Emmerich, and his development and production team led by Courtenay Valenti of Warner Bros. Pictures, Richard Brener of New Line and Walter Hamada, who oversees DC-based films, was put to oversee the company's entire film output, both theatrical and streaming releases.

Management
HBO Max was formed under HBO and its HBO Direct subsidiary. Kevin Reilly, president of WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks which includes most of the company's ad-supported entertainment channels such as TBS, TNT, and TruTV, was also given the role of as chief content officer of HBO Max with responsibility for HBO Max-exclusive original programming and library content. Andy Forssell was named the service's executive vice president and general manager while still reporting to Otter Media CEO Tony Goncalves, who leads development. Casey Bloys, programming president of HBO, retained oversight of the core HBO service but was not initially involved with Max-exclusive programming.

Content
HBO indicated that the service would have 10,000 hours of content at-launch, including first-run and library content from the namesake HBO (including its original series, documentaries, and specials), and content from the company's other brands and networks. WarnerMedia stated that the service would have over 2,000 films available at-launch, including HBO's existing pay television rights that are sourced from studios including sister companies Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema, alongside acquired rights from Universal Pictures.

HBO Max launched with live feeds from WarnerMedia's linear television networks, including The WB, TBS, TNT, and CNN, alongside HBO's own networks.

Content providers
First and third party content providers for HBO Max. Asterisk (*) denotes third parties.


 * 6th & Idaho*
 * A Very Good Production*
 * Bad Robot Productions*
 * BBC*
 * Berlanti Productions*
 * Boomerang
 * Castle Rock Entertainment
 * Channel 4*
 * CNN
 * Comedy Central*
 * The Criterion Collection*
 * CuriosityStream*
 * DC Entertainment
 * Dimension Films*
 * DreamWorks*
 * Fleischer Studios
 * Famous Studios (Paramount Cartoon Studios)
 * Focus Features (until 2022)*
 * GKIDS*
 * Hanna-Barbera
 * HBO
 * Hello Sunshine*
 * Hollywood Pictures*
 * ITV*
 * Legendary Entertainment*
 * Lionsgate*
 * Magnolia Pictures*
 * Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer*
 * Miramax*
 * New Line Cinema
 * Orion Pictures*
 * Paramount Pictures*
 * Peanuts Worldwide*
 * Picturehouse*
 * Relativity Media*
 * RKO Pictures*
 * Roadside Attractions*
 * Rooster Teeth
 * Sony Pictures*
 * Star
 * Studio Ghibli (via GKIDS)*
 * Summit Entertainment (until 2022)*
 * TBS
 * TNT
 * Touchstone Pictures*
 * TruTV
 * Turner Classic Movies
 * Turner Entertainment
 * United Artists*
 * Universal Pictures*
 * Walt Disney Pictures*
 * Warner Bros.
 * The WB

Max Originals
Original films and series produced are under the banner Max Originals, including series, films, and specials. Original episodic content is released weekly, eschewing the "binge" format made popular by Netflix. Kevin Reilly stated this was to ensure that originals would remain in the spotlight for extended periods, by letting said shows "breathe" as opposed to "fading quickly after a binge and burn". He also noted that the weekly schedule helped to drive the success of past HBO shows like Succession and Chernobyl which they co-produced with Sky UK, and became hits precisely due to their staying power. On February 5, 2019, Warner Bros. announced that it would form a new label known as Warner Max to produce 8 to 10 mid-budget films for the service annually.

Syndication
New Warner Bros. Television Studios-produced series that have premiered on The WB since the 2019–20 season beginning with Batwoman and Katy Keene (which was cancelled in July 2020) will have their past seasons placed on HBO Max a month before the newest season premieres on TV. All other shows from The WB premiered on the service later in 2019. On July 9, 2018, HBO Max acquired the U.S. streaming rights to Friends in a $425 million deal, and on September 17, 2019, acquired the U.S. streaming rights to The Big Bang Theory, as part of a deal that also extends TBS's off-network rights to the series through 2028.

Acquired rights
Outside of WarnerMedia, the service also offers titles from The Criterion Collection, and has a long-term partnership with BBC Studios (which HBO had previously partnered with to create His Dark Materials). Over 700 episodes of BBC content were available on the service at launch, including the first 11 seasons of the 2005 Doctor Who revival, as well as future seasons twelve through fourteen, and a variety of other shows including The Honourable Woman, Luther, Top Gear, and the original British version of The Office. Additionally, future shows by BBC Studios will be co-produced with HBO Max.

HBO Max has acquired the streaming rights to several Comedy Central series, including South Park, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, South Side, and The Other Two; with the latter two becoming Max Original series.

Western
The service also features many hubs for animated programming, drawing largely from the libraries of Warner Bros. Animation (including the Looney Tunes franchise and Hanna-Barbera productions, such as Tom and Jerry and Tex Avery cartoons as well) and Cartoon Network, along with Adult Swim. Original animated series (including the Adventure Time epilogue specials Adventure Time: Distant Lands, Jellystone!, Looney Tunes Cartoons, Summer Camp Island, Puyo Puyo, and a reboot of The Boondocks produced by Sony Pictures Animation) for both network sections were also announced for HBO Max, and the service beat out competitors to acquire domestic streaming rights to Trey Parker and Matt Stone's South Park and its next three seasons, in a shared deal with ViacomCBS's Comedy Central (which Warner used to own a half ownership share of Comedy Central from 1991 to 2003) and Paramount+ for $500 million (with new episodes being added 24 hours after their premiere on Comedy Central).

Post-launch
All eight films in the Harry Potter series were available to stream on the service on launch day, despite earlier reports indicating that the films, although produced by Warner Bros., would not be available due to a prior broadcast rights agreement with NBCUniversal. On May 29, 2019, HBO Max acquired streaming rights to The Big Bang Theory spin-off Young Sheldon.

On June 27, 2020, it was revealed that DC Universe original Harley Quinn will stream its first two seasons on HBO Max. On September 18, 2020, it was announced that all DC Universe content would be migrating to HBO Max, including original shows like Titans and Young Justice, which will have their newest seasons air exclusively on the service. In addition, both Doom Patrol and Harley Quinn have been renewed for third seasons for the service.

On October 28, 2020, it was announced that the 1990s series Tiny Toon Adventures would be rebooted for Cartoon Network and HBO Max as Tiny Toons Looniversity, featuring older versions of the characters. Steven Spielberg is expected to return as executive producer. The show was given a two-season order.

United States
The majority of active subscribers to the HBO pay TV service (which previously included HBO Go), and most customers that were subscribed to HBO at time of launch, can access HBO Max for no extra charge, with all three services generally sharing the same price point of $8.99 per month. However, this transition is contingent on the customer's current provider or biller having signed a new distribution agreement for HBO Max with WarnerMedia.