Charter to Offer Max for Free as Part of New Deal With Warner Bros. Discovery
Max is just the latest streamer to come available to Spectrum TV customers at no extra charge.
Charter Communications is avoiding the pitfalls of a carriage dispute with Warner Bros. Discovery. The two companies announced on Thursday that they had agreed to a new deal that will allow Charter to distribute Warner-owned channels like Food Network, TBS, and TNT for multiple years to come. As part of the agreement, Spectrum TV Select customers will get access to yet another on-demand streaming service at no extra cost: WBD’s flagship streamer Max.
Key Details:
- Max and discovery+ join AMC+, BET+ Disney+, Paramount+, and other streamers as platforms Spectrum TV customers can access for free.
- TNT’s carriage fee will reportedly stay flat, which is a big win for WBD since the channel is likely to lose NBA rights.
- WBD will likely use the new deal as a blueprint for upcoming carriage talks with Comcast and DIRECTV.
The biggest win for Spectrum TV subscribers in the new carriage deal with WBD — aside from the fact that it ensures Warner-owned channels won’t go dark on the service — is that Spectrum TV Select subscribers will be able to sign up for ad-supported Max accounts of their own at no additional cost. Spectrum customers will also get free access to WBD’s other streaming service discovery+ as part of the deal.
This has been a hallmark of carriage negotiations for Charter since last September when the company got Disney to include free access to ad-supported Disney+ for its customers. Since then, Spectrum has made similar deals to provide its customers with AMC+, BET+, Paramount+, and the Spanish-language streamer ViX Premium at no extra cost. Some Spectrum viewers also get ESPN+ as part of their subscriptions.
“This innovative partnership with Charter recognizes the value of our linear content and the investments we’ve made in premium original programming, sports and news, while also significantly expanding the distribution of Max’s ad-supported service to Spectrum’s millions of Select customers,” WBD CEO David Zaslav said. “We did this agreement together nearly a year early to set a framework for the future and to provide more consumers access to our unparalleled content offering while giving the industry more resilience as it evolves. We are pleased this achieves each of our company’s objectives.”
In addition to free Max accounts for its Spectrum TV Select customers, Charter has named the streamer a “preferred partner,” which means that it will market the Max app — and potentially bundles including the service — to broadband customers when it begins marketing and selling direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming apps to its internet subscribers in 2025.
“This strategic relationship with WBD further evolves the linear and broadband video distribution model and supports Spectrum’s efforts to provide flexible packages, whether through hybrid linear-DTC full video relationships, smaller video packages with DTC add-ons, or a suite of a-la-carte or bundled DTC options for broadband customers,” Charter Communications CEO Chris Winfrey said. “The inclusion of the ad-supported version of Max and Discovery+ in our most popular packages at no additional cost ensures we provide the most value to our customers, particularly when combined with the utility of Xumo, which seamlessly integrates live linear, DVR and VOD, DTC, and SVOD content with unified search and discovery for the best overall customer experience. WBD’s creativity and commitment to a healthier video ecosystem further enables us to deliver on our core principles to create value and choice for customers.”
TNT Rates Stay Flat in Huge Win for WBD
It’s entirely possible that as part of the negotiations that allowed Max to be distributed to Spectrum customers for free, WBD insisted on not receiving lower carriage fees for TNT. If so, The Wall Street Journal reports that it succeeded, as TNT’s carriage rate will remain flat over the course of the new deal. Currently, TNT commands a fee of $3 per subscriber, but the value of the channel may be much lower in distributor’s eyes if it loses live NBA games, which currently seems highly likely.
Many industry observers have assumed that programmers would demand a lower carriage rate for TNT if it loses the NBA, so keeping its rate flat is a big win for WBD — while simultaneously showing what it thinks of its chances to win a lawsuit aimed at clawing back a package of NBA games. TNT is still set to broadcast NBA games in the 2024-25 season.
The Journal also reports that fees for other WBD channels like CNN and TBS are going up, allowing WBD to claim that it increased carriage rates for its channels overall. It’s expected that the company will use its new deal with Charter as a model for upcoming carriage talks with Comcast and DIRECTV.
It will be fascinating to see if DIRECTV is willing to strike a deal on similar lines. The company’s current carriage dispute with Disney is centered on a desire to sell smaller packages based around particular themes like sports, news, and entertainment. Will WBD be subjected to the same demands? DIRECTV has also been less enthusiastic about including on-demand streaming access for its customers in the Disney negotiations, but will that change when the on-demand streamer in question is Max?
Only time will answer those questions. In the meantime, Spectrum TV Select customers should be on the lookout for more information on how to sign up for their free, ad-supported Max accounts.
Max
Max is a subscription video streaming service that gives access to the full HBO library, along with exclusive Max Originals. There are hubs for content from TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Discovery, TCM, Cartoon Network, Travel Channel, ID, and more. Watch hit series like “The Last of Us,” “House of the Dragon,” “Succession,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” and more. Thanks to the B/R Sports add-on, users can watch NBA, MLB, NHL, March Madness, and NASCAR events.