- YouTube TV, a live-TV subscription service that operates in the US, will add HBO and Cinemax to its available networks;
- HBO Max, which will also be distributed by YouTubeTV, is set to become one of the biggest players in the video-streaming landscape.
WarnerMedia, a division of AT&T Inc., and Google‘s YouTube TV announced today a comprehensive distribution relationship that will bring HBO and Cinemax to YouTube TV, a live-TV streaming service, for the first time. YouTube TV has also committed to distributing WarnerMedia’s upcoming HBO Max streaming platform when it launches in the US next May.
HBO Max is set to become one of the biggest players in the video-streaming landscape, alongside Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video, so the new deal – partnering up giants WarnerMedia and Google – is really a big deal. YouTube TV is a subscription service that streams live and on-demand TV from more than 70 networks in the US territory. It is still unclear if Google plans to expand YouTube TV internationally.
The pact expands upon the existing carriage agreement between the two companies for WarnerMedia networks TBS, TNT, truTV, CNN, HLN, Turner Classic Movies, Adult Swim and Cartoon Network, which have already been available to YouTube TV.
“As consumers’ media consumption habits continually evolve and the landscape becomes more and more dynamic, our goal remains constant, and that is to make the portfolio of WarnerMedia networks available as widely as possible,” said Rich Warren, president of WarnerMedia Distribution. “YouTube has been a valued partner for a number of years, and we’re pleased to not only extend our existing agreement, but also make HBO and Cinemax – and soon HBO Max – available to YouTube TV customers for the first time.”
HBO Max will be WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer streaming service, which includes the HBO library as well as films from Warner Bros. and third-party licensed programs. Combined with HBO series, HBO Max will stream 69 originals in its first year. WarnerMedia still did not made public any plans for HBO Max in international markets beyond its American launch in May.
“Our commitment at YouTube TV is to deliver TV to our members how and when they want it,” said Lori Conkling, Global Head of Partnerships at YouTube TV. “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with WarnerMedia to deliver their family of networks that are popular among our members, as well as introduce HBO, Cinemax and HBO Max to our growing line-up of premium content.”
Both linear and on-demand HBO and Cinemax content will debut on YouTube TV this spring, providing instant access to the service’s customers for the first time. Included will be HBO’s extensive array of programming, which features iconic and award-winning titles such as Watchmen, Big Little Lies and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, current and returning hit dramas Succession, Westworld and The Outsider, comedy series Barry, Insecure and Curb Your Enthusiasm, and classic favorites like Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, The Wire and Sex and the City.
Upcoming HBO releases include returning favorites High Maintenance and My Brilliant Friend and limited series The Plot Against America, The Undoing and I Know This Much Is True. Cinemax will offer its slate of original series including Strike Back, which recently began its seventh season, along with Trackers and Gangs of London. Theatrical hits debuting on the network this spring include Boy Erased, First Man and Bad Times at the El Royale.
