HBO Max is likely to lose 5 million customers with its exit from Amazon Prime Video Channels but the channel sees the departure as a short-term problem that will pay for itself well into the future.
Andy Forssell, general manager at HBO Max, explained the rationale for his company’s decision to leave Channels, an aggregated subscription platform that helped HBO grow but limited its ability to build direct relationships with customers.
“It’s important for us to own the customer,” he explained. “If the viewer is in the app, we can tailor the home page to them. We can tailor what they show them next. We can respond to that in real time.”
The strategic decision by HBO Max to leave Amazon Channels was made by WarnerMedia and they warned that there will be an impact on HBO Max and HBO domestic subscribers in the third quarter.
The potential impact has already been considered into the company’s global subscriber guidance for the full year, which puts HBO and HBO Max at 70 million to 73 million global subscribers by the end of 2021.
Those numbers put HBO and HBO Max behind Disney+ which is well over 100 million at this point but consumers have shown a willingness to pay for both giving them access to HBO’s award-winning series and first-run Warner Bros. feature films (VOD) and Star Wars, the Marvel MCU, and classic Disney programming.
WarnerMedia has not been sitting on its hands and already has a new deal for subscribers.
As of September 15, HBO is no longer available as a subscription through Amazon Prime Video Channels. However, former subscribers don’t have to miss out on their favorite HBO shows. Starting today, those who accessed HBO via Prime Video Channels, as well as all new and returning HBO Max subscribers, can enjoy their favorite HBO programming and HBO Max’s more than 13,000 hours of content, on the HBO Max ad-free monthly plan at a 50% discount.
This new limited time promotion of $7.49 per month for up to six months is available through September 26th.
Customers can sign up at HBOMax.com or via the following distribution partners: Apple, Google, LG, Microsoft, Sony, Roku and Vizio.
HBO Max is home to best-in-class quality entertainment, featuring an impressive array of storytelling for all audiences. The HBO Max catalog of programming includes HBO and Max Original series as well as content from iconic brands like Warner Bros., DC, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Turner Classic Movies and more.
For the remainder of the year, the HBO Max ad-free plan will continue to offer day-and-date premieres of Warner Bros. films in the US, arriving in theaters and on the platform on the same day. Currently, in theaters and on the platform is Malignant, the latest creation from the Conjuring universe. Cry Macho, from Clint Eastwood, arrives today.
Following in October is The Many Saints of Newark, a Sopranos story, and the highly anticipated Dune. November brings King Richard, with Will Smith as the father determined to write his daughters, Venus and Serena, into history. The Matrix Resurrections, the latest in the groundbreaking franchise, arrives in December.
Upcoming HBO and HBO Max programming includes the third season of the Max Original drama series “Doom Patrol” (9/23), the third season of HBO’s Emmy®-winning drama series “Succession” (10/17), the fifth and final season of the Emmy®-winning HBO comedy series “Insecure” (10/24), season eleven of HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (October), season two of the Max Original anthology series “Love Life” (10/28), season three of the Max Original unscripted series “Selena + Chef” (October), the final six episodes of the first season of the Max Original series “Gossip Girl” (November) and season two of HBO’s “How To With John Wilson” (November).
HBO Max also includes an expansive slate of kids and family originals featuring a Cartoonito preschool programming block with series including “Little Ellen” and the upcoming season two of Sesame Workshop’s “The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo”; Cartoon Network’s smash hits for bigger kids including “Teen Titans Go!” and upcoming “We Bare Bears” spinoff “We Baby Bears”; as well as programs for everyone in the family to enjoy together including the upcoming “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai,”“Unicorn: Warriors Eternal,”and the recently announced “Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses.”
How to subscribe?
From now through September 26, here’s how customers can access the offer:
- Go to HBOMax.com, click “Sign Up“ and select the Ad-Free monthly plan from the plan picker
- To sign up on Apple, Roku, Google, LG, Microsoft, Sony, or Vizio, download the HBO Max app and follow the instructions on the partner portal.
For further information on HBO Max content and subscriptions, please visit www.hbomax.com.
