HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s new streaming service, to launch in 2020

WarnerMedia on Tuesday announced the upcoming release of its very own direct-to-consumer streaming service, HBO Max.

“Anchored with and inspired by the legacy of HBO’s excellence and award-winning storytelling, the new service will be ‘Maximized’ with an extensive collection of exclusive original programming (Max Originals) and the best-of-the-best from WarnerMedia’s enormous portfolio of beloved brands and libraries,” the company said in a press release.

Essentially, HBO Max will feature some of HBO’s most popular original content, along with movies and series from the likes of Cartoon Network, Warner Bros, DC, TBS and New Line Cinema.

With this, the streaming service will have exclusive rights to classics like Friends and The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, as well as Pretty Little Liars, Batwoman and Riverdale spin-off Katy Keene.

This, along with a long list of upcoming original productions from HBO Max itself, will make up 10 000 hours of content for the platform when it launches in 2020.

WarnerMedia has also signed “exclusive movie production deals” with the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Greg Berlanti.

The company claims that HBO Max will boast “an impressive direct-to-consumer experience for everyone ranging from families with young children to adults of all ages”.

Though WarnerMedia has not mentioned which parts of the world will be able to enjoy the new service, or how much it will cost, there is no doubt that HBO Max is going to give Netflix a run for its money.

Currently, the highly popular Friends, The Fresh Prince and even Pretty Little Liars are all available on Netflix. But the service’s South African operations has told Memeburn that users should expect no change in the content due to HBO Max’s arrival.

“The South African Netflix platform will not be affected by news of HBO Max launching in 2020 as this only applies to the US. As such, none of the international deals will be impacted,” it stated in an email on Wednesday.

Feature image: screenshot, HBO Max via YouTube