WarnerMedia has announced an official May 2020 release date for HBO Max. With Disney+ signup rates booming and more people streaming Netflix and Hulu content than ever while they wait out the coronavirus pandemic at home, it's an interesting moment for WarnerMedia and HBO to be entering the streaming wars. Of course, they've been planning to launch their own subscription-based streaming package (dubbed HBO Max) next month since long before COVID-19 was on most people's radar.

In a bid to appeal to those who're self-quarantining and not already subscribed to HBO Now or HBO via one of AT&T's television services (which will either be granted access to HBO Max or automatically upgraded at no additional cost), HBO has been streaming hundreds of hours of free content since April 3, including classic TV series like The Sopranos and recent Warner Bros. movies like Detective Pikachu. At the same time, the virus outbreak has also impacted WarnerMedia's plans in negative ways, like forcing them to delay the Friends Reunion special which was meant to be available on HBO Max at launch.

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Today, WarnerMedia confirmed HBO Max will go live in the U.S. on May 27, 2020, at the monthly price of at $$14.99 (the same as HBO Now). It will launch with more than 10,000 hours of programming, including the entirety of old-school sitcoms like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in addition to previously-aired episodes of South Park, Doctor Who, and Rick and Morty. Their deeper library of content will further include movies and TV shows from New Line Cinema and Warner Bros., Cartoon Network, TBS, TNT, HBO, and other WarnerMedia-owned networks and studios.

HBO Max video

Like its competition, HBO Max will also offer exclusive content in the forms of TV series and movies to go with its acquired IPs. As part of their announcement, WarnerMedia confirmed the streamer will launch with original offerings like the Anna Kendrick scripted comedy Love Life, all-new Looney Tunes cartoon series, and Sesame Workshop’s The Not Too Late Show with Elmo. In recent months, they've further revealed plans to develop live-action TV shows based on DC Comics' Justice League Dark and Green Lantern for HBO Max, in addition to upwards of eight to ten mid-budget movies a year from the recently-established Warner Max label.

Right off the bat, HBO Max has the same problem as Disney+ did when they launched in the U.S. last November; their back catalogue is excellent, but they're offering little in the way of original content which seems worth signing up for (and even then, Disney+ at least had The Mandalorian season 1 to fall back on). While they do have some big projects in the pipeline, it's going to be some time before they see the light of day, especially with film and television production shut-down across the industry because of the ongoing health crisis. There's just not a whole lot of incentive to subscribe to HBO Max right out of the gate, especially with their streaming competitors stepping up their efforts in the exclusive content department in the wake of the pandemic. Still, with everybody stuck at home, the streaming package will likely perform better from the get-go than it would've under different circumstances.

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HBO Max launches in the U.S. on Wednesday, May 27.

Source: WarnerMedia