Report: 70% of HBO Max Subscribers Logged Into Max During Streamer’s First Week, Exceeding Internal Expectations
Warner Bros. Discovery executives have been thoroughly convinced for more than a year that Max would be a successful streaming product when it launched. That faith is being rewarded this week, as The Wall Street Journal reports that WBD has seen around 70% of its former HBO Max customer base make the switch to the new streaming platform.
WBD streaming head J.B. Perrette told WSJ that this figure exceeds expectations and that hours viewed per subscriber and total content consumed on Max have increased every day since the service officially launched on May 23. Users who have not logged onto Max yet will be prompted to do so the next time they sign up for HBO Max, and unless they cancel will continue to pay their subscription fees no matter when they log in next.
Streaming is suddenly one of the best-functioning segments of WBD, so it’s a good sign for the company that its new platform is off to a strong start. WBD continues to see losses to cable channels like CNN and Discovery, which are part of the larger trend of cord-cutting that ails the entire pay-TV industry. The company’s movie studio is still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, though it hopes new releases like “The Flash” and “Barbie” will aid in its recovery. Meanwhile, streaming turned in a small profit for WBD in the first quarter, and the company forecasts Max will achieve net profitability by the end of the year.
Perrette also revealed that the company had seen some increased cancelation from discovery+ users. He did not give a specific number, but he said it was in line with company expectations, and that many of the customers who canceled also migrated to Max, meaning the company was now getting more revenue from those users than it was when they were on discovery+. WBD originally planned to shutter discovery+ altogether after launching Max, but its low churn rate and lower price point convinced the company to keep it as a standalone service.
The figures seem to confirm Perrette’s “so far, so good” sentiments from the day after Max’s launch. Despite the fact that for many customers the Max app did not download automatically as the company promised it would, users are clearly finding their way to the service. There have been other hiccups with the rollout of Max, such as the elimination of individual writing and directing credits for titles on the service, and their replacement with a generic “creator” label. Perrette took responsibility for that mistake to the WSJ and promised a fix was on the way.
WBD timed out the launch of Max wisely, as it rolled out the same week the series finales of popular HBO shows “Succession” and “Barry” aired. That undoubtedly motivated former HBO Max users to make sure they had Max ready to go, as the Journal reports that 2.9 million people watched the “Succession” finale across linear HBO and Max.
There are still more questions ahead for Max, such as how it will use WBD’s live sports and news assets to grow its audience further. But bringing on 70% of former HBO Max subscribers in the first week is a good start, and WBD may see even bigger profits than forecast if it continues to upsell discovery+ users to Max.
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.