HBO Max Subscribers Will Keep Current Features for Six Months After Max Launches Including 4K, Download Limits
On April 12, Warner Bros. Discovery executives finally unveiled details regarding their new upcoming streaming platform Max. The service will integrate most of the content from HBO Max and discovery+, and offer some important new user updates to improve the audience experience.
Current HBO Max users who were worried about their watch history, profile information and other account details were reassured to learn that for most, their information will be migrated to the new platform automatically when it launches on May 23. But some were no doubt upset to learn that HBO Max’s 4K streaming ability, which is currently available to users of that service’s ad-free tier, will only be offered on Max's new Ultimate price plan when it rolls out.
That plan will cost $19.99 per month, so for users who value 4K streaming it amounts to a price hike. Fortunately, you’ll have a little extra time to think over how important that feature is to you. A WBD spokesperson has confirmed to The Streamable that HBO Max customers will continue to have access to all of the features in their current plan for a minimum of six months after the rollout of the new service, including 4K streaming ability, the number of downloads they can have, etc.
That’s also good to hear from a user perspective. It will allow customers who have gotten used to their HBO Max plan and its features a chance to get their feet wet with Max, demonstrating that WBD has the needs of its consumers very much in mind when executing the monumental rebrand that its streaming services are about to undergo.
That pledge can also be seen in the company’s refusal to raise prices for the new service, at least for the present. Max will launch at the same price points HBO Max currently sits at: $9.99 per month for ad-supported streaming, or $15.99 per month to go ad-free and gain the ability to download up to 30 titles to watch offline. The service is launching the aforementioned $19.99 Ultimate plan on May 23, but no users will be upgraded to that plan unless they choose it themselves.
The streamer’s commitment to improving the user experience seems directly at odds with Netflix, these days. Users of the world’s largest streamer are still waiting to hear what Netflix plans to do about customers sharing passwords. Netflix executives promised measures to halt password sharing were coming by the end of the first quarter of 2023, but that date has now come and gone. It may well be that the intense backlash Netflix saw from its users when it accidentally posted some password sharing rules meant for other countries on its American Help Center page has caused the service to rethink its next steps.
But that’s Netflix’s problem, not WBD’s. That company can keep moving the ball forward until next month when it releases the new streaming platform customers have been waiting anxiously for since the spring of 2022.
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.