The Stream Report
Posts
The Year of HBO Max Has Come

The Year of HBO Max Has Come

HBO Max Plays Hardball

December 08, 2020

December 8, 2020

In a bold move that's sure to have lasting impacts on the move industry, AT&T announced that its HBO Max streaming service would be releasing all 2021 Warner Brothers movies concurrently on the streaming platform and in what few movie theaters are currently operating. Commoners like us are certainly rejoicing, but theater big wigs aren't pleased about it. Let's explore a bit more about what happened, and what we can expect will happen as a result.

Streamer's Spotlight: HBO Max and the Big Gamble

HBO Max launched earlier this year with some level of skepticism. AT&T has suffered some major black eyes with its streaming services (AT&T TV Now, in particular). The company needed a win. It appears it may have one with HBO Max. The service launched with a large cache of popular and high-rated content, but AT&T is now playing hardball. It's planning to release all 2021 Warner Brothers movies, including the upcoming

Wonder Woman 1984

, on HBO Max and movie theaters at the same time.

What Does This Means?

There's no two ways about it here: AT&T is pulling out all the stops, but it's also taking a page out of Disney's playbook with this move. If you recall, Disney earlier this year released several of its movies straight to Disney+, including its new live-action Mulan.

In going this route, it means you don't have to go to a movie theater to see any 2021 Warner Brothers movie release, including

Wonder Woman 1984

HBO Max Dropping Its Free Trial

Here's the downside to all of this. AT&T is doing this exactly like Disney did, and that includes dropping the free trial offer from its service prior to the release of its AAA movies onto HBO Max. So, if you have some inkling that you'd be able to free trial your way into watching upcoming hits like

Dune

Suicide Squad

for free, well...not if AT&T has anything to do with it (and they do).

It's unclear whether AT&T also plans to make you pay extra to watch any of these releases, similar to how Disney played things out with

Mulan.

If they're smart, though, they won't. People weren't really pleased with Disney's move on that.

Movie Theater Chains Aren't Happy

No surprise here: Movie theater chains are already trying to fight this. AMC's CEO, Adam Aron (who has already angrily responded to many other "straight to streaming" moves this year), wasn't too keen on AT&T's move with this.

He wrote

"Clearly, Warner Media intends to sacrifice a considerable portion of the profitability of its movie studio division, and that of its production partners and filmmakers, to subsidize its HBO Max start up. As for AMC, we will do all in our power to ensure that Warner does not do so at our expense."

He certainly isn't wrong on their motivations. Everyone can clearly see what AT&T is doing with this move. Chances are, though, it could be a short-term profit loss for a long-term gain. And that's exactly what AT&T is hoping for.

This Week's Streaming Guide

1. Explore Controversial 1978 Philly Raid on HBO

History buffs will enjoy this documentary exploring the controversial Philadelphia police raid and shoot-out against the black militant group MOVE. Streaming Tuesday at 9 PM EST. -

Watch on HBO2. Relive the Greatest Holiday Commercials on the CW

From hilarious to dramatic, watch the "Greatest Holiday Commercial Countdown 2020" on the CW this Wednesday at PM EST. -

Watch The CW Live Without Cable

3 The Hit Isekai Manga "Alice in Borderland" Comes to Netflix in Live Action

Three teens get transported to a different world where they must fight to survive the "game". -

Stream on Netflix

4. Watch the Newest High School Musical Movie on Disney+

The full title? "High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special"

S tream on Disney+