It is no secret that AT&T has had a rough year, the company just reported that they lost another 1.16 million traditional pay TV subscribers and 195,000 AT&T TV NOW subscribers, leaving AT&T TV NOW with just 1.1 million subscribers, from a peak of 1.8 million last year. However, AT&T hopes to turn things around with the launch of HBO Max on the horizon.
One of the ways in which they plan to regain subscribers is by pairing HBO Max with AT&T TV. At their media day, which took place on Oct. 29, the company announced that when HBO Max launches in May 2020, it will be available in a bundle package with AT&T TV as well.
President and COO of AT&T Inc. and CEO of WarnerMedia, John Stankey reiterated the fact that HBO Max will be the “workhorse” for the company and that they will be putting “all the muscle and effort behind it,” echoing AT&T chairman and CEO, Randall Stephenson’s sentiment from the day before.
“Initially, there’ll be a synthetic bundle offering that allows HBO Max to be paired with AT&T software-based TV, AT&T TV. That will be rendered off of 2 separate platforms with a synthetic bundle and ability to navigate back and forth between the two,” Stankey stated. “Second step is literally taking the AT&T TV offer and making it coresident with the platform so that you’re not sitting on 2 separate rendering environments.”
The long term plan for AT&T is to ensure that all their streaming services are on one platform, which is the direction Stankey sees the business going. He continued, “And then the third step….I would expect that you’re not going to distinguish between AVOD, SVOD and live, pay TV. We’re going to see over time that, that just comes together in one universal platform, and I think that’s generally where the market is going.”
HBO Max will cost $14.99 when it launches next spring. The streaming service will be available to existing HBO subscribers at no extra cost. AT&T plans to launch an ad-supported version in 2021.