WarnerMedia Streaming Service Could Cost As Much As $17 Per Month, Would Include HBO And Cinemax
Everybody wants their own streaming service these days, including WarnerMedia. The company is set to launch its own streaming service soon, and we now have a rough estimate of what it will cost subscribers: between $16-$17. The service is also likely to bundle together HBO and Cinemax, and several other shows. While that's a lot of material, it's hard to shrug off how pricey that cost is. In fact, if that number is accurate, it would make the WarnerMedia streaming service one of the most expensive on the market.
The Wall Street Journal talked to some anonymous sources and got the scoop on the WarnerMedia streaming service cost. Per Variety:
The AT&T-owned media company is looking to launch the still-unnamed WarnerMedia subscription VOD service at a price point of $16-$17 per month and is likely to bundle together HBO and Cinemax along with Warner Bros. TV shows and movies, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing anonymous sources.
You could argue that you're getting a lot of content here, but that price is steep. It's a deal compared to HBO Now, which runs $14.99 per month. But other streaming services are much lower in cost. Netflix's standard plan is currently $12.99; Hulu is $5.99 with ads, and $11.99 without; and Amazon Prime will run you $12.99. Disney's upcoming streaming service, Disney+, is looking to cut the legs out from under all of these folks with their $6.99 cost.
WarnerMedia originally intended to launch a three tier plan: "an entry-level movie-focused package; a service with original programming and movies; and one that provided the content in the first two plus a library of WarnerMedia and licensed content." That idea has been abandoned in favor of a single plan.
If all of this seems way too pricey for you, but you're still interested in subscribing, you might want to wait a year. WarnerMedia is considering launching a lower-cost ad-supported version of their streaming service in 2020. So you'll have a choice: pay more and go ad-free, like HBO Now – or pay less, and put up with incessant ads, like Hulu. Again, you're getting a lot of content here: not just HBO and Cinemax material, but also Warner Bros. TV shows and movies. If you can fit it into your budget, the service might be worth it.
WarnerMedia is slated to launch a beta version of its streaming service near the end of this year, which is around the time Disney+ is going live. (Disney+ officially debuts in November.)