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TV TATTLE

WarnerMedia's streaming plans have hit a snag due to HBO's $15 monthly cost

  • The $15 HBO charges is more than any other streaming service -- and more than double the $7 Disney+ plans to charge. Yet HBO is a key part of WarnerMedia's streaming service plans, but the company can't charge less when it is adding a lot more value to its streaming service than just HBO. Plus, the $15 monthly cost is locked in with contracts with distributors like Comcast and Dish. As The New York Times reports, "Adding to the conundrum: WarnerMedia, which declined to comment for this article, wants streaming content with mass appeal, the better to please AT&T’s 148 million phone customers. But HBO, the property with the best head start in streaming, thanks to its HBO Go and HBO Now services, tends to attract a select audience. Occasionally, the network has landed critical successes that also enter the mainstream, like The Sopranos and Game of Thrones,” but it’s not easy to find mass-market hits that suit the HBO brand. A coming Game of Thrones prequel series has a chance to recreate the magic, but Hollywood is littered with forgettable follow-ups."

    TOPICS: Disney+, HBO, HBO Max, AT&T