After months of taunting, Warner Bros. Discovery will officially launch its HBO Max rebrand on May 23.
Max, as the streaming service will become known, will introduce a slightly less HBO-forward experience to the popular platform. But considering all the product features—and additional content, courtesy of the Discovery+ brand—that will come along with it, perhaps Max won’t be a cause for concern among HBO fans after all.
Here are the fast facts you need to know about Max, as WBD announced during an hourlong presser on Wednesday.
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Max will cost the same as HBO Max—with one exception
When Max officially launches on May 23, there will be three pricing tiers. Max Ad-Lite and Max Ad-Free are mostly identical to the current HBO Max offerings. Ad-Lite will cost $9.99 a month, offer content in 1080p, and not allow for offline downloads. Ad-Free will cost $15.99 a month, stream at 1080p, and offer 30 offline downloads a month.
Then there’s the new Max Ultimate Ad-Free option, priced at $19.99 a month or $199.99 for an annual subscription. That will allow you to once again stream in 4K and download content with abandon. Users who currently have those same features while paying $15.99—the price of the current top-tier plan available for HBO Max—have six months before they’ll be asked to upgrade to Ultimate or lose those extra features.
The user experience will be a lot better
HBO Max is notoriously messy to navigate. A carousel up top slowly reveals some, but not all, new content to check out, while the rest of the homepage shows rows of various, poorly arranged movies and shows. Specific brand hubs also don’t receive prominent placement, meaning most users just scroll through their home screen without checking out what else is available.
WBD announced an array of product features to make Max a lot more user-friendly, including tabs at the top of the page with clearly defined categories to look through, such as the app’s new offerings. Users will also receive personalized recommendations for content to check out based on what they’ve recently watched, Netflix-style. Pages dedicated to different genres will also be prominently displayed, as well those various, well-hidden brand hubs. There will also be a handy shortcut to add content to the better-organized My List feature.
HBO isn’t going anywhere
Even though it’s booting the Home Box Office from the streamer’s name, WBD recognizes that HBO access is why a lot of people subscribe in the first place. One of those shortcut tabs at the top of the home screen will be dedicated to HBO content, so fans of the network can easily find Succession, Game of Thrones, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
For good measure, the presentation also included news about several upcoming HBO series, from Park Chan-wook and Robert Downey Jr.’s adaptation of The Sympathizer to a new Game of Thrones prequel.
Discovery+ isn’t going anywhere, either
Max will add Discovery+’s wider-ranging content, which comes from brands like TLC, HGTV, and the History Channel. But current Discovery+ subscribers don’t have to go anywhere when Max arrives May 23. WBD will maintain the separate service for those who want to watch 90 Day Fiancé but not, say, the upcoming Max Original reality show Love and Translation, from the 90 Day team.
While this decision may seem strange—the more content, the merrier, right?—it’s actually a smart business move. WBD boasted about how much more engaged and adventurous Discovery+ subscribers are than HBO Max users, checking out large swaths of content on the service. And they pay a lot less money to do all that: the ad-based option costs $4.99 a month, while the ad-free plan runs $6.99 a month. If you want to keep watching your Discovery+ content as well as HBO releases and Max Originals ad-free, you’ll have to pay more than twice the cost of your current subscription.
The transition from HBO Max will be seamless
Or so WBD claims. When Max debuts May 23, most HBO Max users will find their apps updated automatically. Those who don’t will be prompted to update upon opening the service. All current user profiles, watchlists, and viewing histories will carry over, and there will be no need to update passwords or billing information. Phew!
