Last week, we reported that an ad-supported tier of HBO Max was in the works with a possible launch in 2021. Now, AT&T Chief Executive Officer John Stankey is confirming the rumors, including the lower price point, spring 2021 launch, and “light ad load” to Bloomberg.
“Virtually any fast-growing company that’s out there today, many of them have free services that are supported by data and advertising,” Stankey told Bloomberg. “Having an advertising option is going to be important to making sure the broadest cross section of content is available to people moving forward.”
While details about the new tier are still minimal, Stankey did confirm that the cost will be lower than the current $14.99 price tag of HBO Max. He also noted that some shows will remain ad-free and will only be available to those who pay full price for the streaming service, similar to NBCUniversal’s Peacock.
And now, the question everyone is (still) asking. Will HBO Max ever be available on Roku and Amazon devices? For now, the service remains unavailable on the two most popular streaming platforms, but Stankey says he believes the situation “will resolve itself in relatively short order,” and that when one of the platforms makes a deal, the other will follow soon after.