Max reverses course, won't charge extra for live sports and news
In an utterly shocking, consumer-friendly move, Max won't charge for something previously offered for free. Warner Bros. Discovery said on Wednesday that it's shelving its previously announced plan to charge an extra $10 monthly for sports and news content. Instead, it's cutting the content from the ad-supported tier next month, which sounds reasonable enough.
In 2023, Max said its Bleacher Report (B/R) Sports Add-On tier would only be free until February 2024, when it would become a $10 add-on for all tiers. But that date came and went (and then went some more) without news of the extra fees. Viewers waited silently like students who hoped their teacher would forget their homework assignment. Then, last September, Bloomberg reported that the $10 fee was still in the works — and could arrive as soon as that month. Uh oh.
But today's news puts those concerns to rest, at least for paying subscribers. Ad-supported members will lose access to B/R Sports and CNN Max (the news network's streaming redo) on March 30. Warner says those on that tier who want to retain access to sports and news can visit the Max Help Center for more info. So far, that page says nothing about it, so you'll probably want to check back closer to the cutoff date.
B/R Sports streams more than 1,700 live games and events annually across leagues like the NBA (although it loses those rights after this season), MLB, NHL, NCAA, NASCAR and more. Meanwhile, CNN Max is Warner CEO David Zaslav's latest attempt to turn a CNN streaming service into a revenue stream — something the debt-ridden company direly needs. This month alone, it made sweeping cuts to its games division and began offering some of its movies on YouTube.
Although Max subscribers will welcome today's announcement, there's reason to question whether the free integration will be permanent. In its press release, where you have to assume words were chosen carefully and pored over by layers of management, Max only said it won't pursue that path… "for now."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/max-reverses-course-wont-charge-extra-for-live-sports-and-news-175010512.html?src=rss