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HBO Max will debut an ad-supported tier in June
AT&T expects to have up to 150 million HBO and HBO Max subscribers by 2026.
AT&T previously noted that it would expand HBO Max to more countries in June. As it turns out, that’ll be an eventful month for the streaming service in the US as well. The company plans to roll out an ad-supported version in the country in June.
Reports in 2019 suggested a cheaper tier of HBO Max with ads would arrive sometime this year. It's safe to assume the ad-supported version will be less expensive than the current plan, though it's not yet clear how much it'll cost. A standard HBO Max subscription is $15/month.
However, if you opt for the ad-supported tier, you won't have access to the movies that Warner Bros. is releasing on HBO Max and in theaters on the same day. For those, you'll either need to plump for the standard plan (where those movies will initially be available for a month) or wait until they arrive on HBO Max on a permanent basis.
Day-and-date movie premieres will only be on top-level HBO Max - AVOD tier subscribers won't have access to those movies, WarnerMedia's Jason Kilar says
— Dade Hayes (@dadehayes) March 12, 2021
Meanwhile, AT&T has revised its subscriber goals for HBO and HBO Max. It expects to have between 120 and 150 million by the end of 2025. In October 2019, it predicted having between 75 and 90 million subscribers by the same timeframe. Expanding HBO Max to more regions and adding another tier in the US should certainly help AT&T reach that target.
