- WarnerMedia plans to launch HBO Max internationally, starting with Latin America in 2021;
- Also in 2021, the company plans to launch an AVOD version… is it just coincidence?
HBO Max, the AT&T-owned streaming service that combines HBO with WarnerMedia content, has reached 4.1 million subscribers in the United States, since it was launched on May 27, according to a statement made by AT&T CEO John Stankey during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Thursday.
He said that HBO and HBO Max combined have now 36.3 million U.S. subscribers. The company says that it’s on the way of reaching 50-55 million subscribers in the country by 2025.
READ LABS COLLECTIONS: Streaming Giants Battle For Latin America
“One month after launch, HBO Max had about 3 million retail subscribers, and 4.1 million subscribers had activated their Max account. Of those,
more than 1 million were wholesale subscribers through AT&T. As you might expect, we’re seeing more rapid activation with subscribers who are
active users of the HBO digital offers, but we still have work to do to educate and motivate the exclusively linear subscriber base, and we’ll continue to work with our wholesale partners to drive these activation rates, “detailed Stankey in the conference call.
What the company considered a “successful launch of HBO Max with strong engagement” is also related to the popularity of its original content, as TechCrunch reports that all six of its new original contents found themselves ranked among the top 25 viewed series on the platform. Next month, HBO Max will have 21 new original series on the platform.
Customer engagement has exceeded our expectations. It’s the early days, but the average number of weekly hours spent viewing Max is 70% more than on HBO NOW, clearly demonstrating the strength of our library and our success broadening the appeal of the product to more family members
John Stankey, Ceo at AT&T.
In the conference call, Stankey also talked about the company’s plans to launch an advertising-based video-on-demand (AVOD) service. “A few months ago, we took the next step and moved Xandr to WarnerMedia, so we could accelerate our progress in building software-based entertainment platforms, supported by both subscription and advertising, like the AVOD version of HBO Max we plan to launch next year.”
This business model is particularly attractive to Latin Americans. An as anticipated by LABS in May, WarnerMedia plans to launch HBO Max internationally in 2021, starting with Latin America.
