In what AT&T CEO John Stankey has called a "flawless launch", HBO Max has attracted 4.1 million overall subscribers after its first month on the market.
The figure includes more than 1 million wholesale customers from AT&T wireless packages that include HBO Max. This means about 3 million customers were regular retail subscribers. The company says they hope to reach 50-55 million HBO Max customers in the U.S. by 2025 and according to management, they're on track to meeting that subscriber goal.
HBO Max launched on May 27 with the full HBO catalog plus originals like the Anna Kendrick fronted, Love Life. That series proved to be an early popular favorite and was quickly renewed for a second season on the streamer. At $15 per month, HBO Max is one of the more expensive streaming options but since it costs the same as HBO, many pre-existing subscribers to the premium cable network were grandfathered into HBO Max at no additional cost. Combined, HBO and HBO Max have 36.3 million subscribers, up 5% since the end of 2019.
Stankey said that HBO Max was making good on its promise to reach a broader demographic than the traditional service and said "Customer engagement has exceeded our expectations." Stankey went on to cite the 70% more average weekly viewing hours on HBO Max compared to what HBO Now attracted. WarnerMedia content has been on top of the list, with all six HBO Max initial originals in the top 25 most popular content pieces. Stankey said that there will be 21 new originals on the platform by August.
I must say I've mostly been impressed with HBO Max and think there is a lot of room for potential growth as new content is added. There are a lot of streaming platforms to choose from and it's a crowded field but HBO Max has definitely stood out for me.
Have YOU explored HBO Max?