Warner Bros. Discovery is shifting away from its original sports streaming strategy. The company, which operates the Max streaming service, is reportedly abandoning plans to launch a premium sports tier as announced in September 2023, according to Brian Steinberg of Variety. Instead, Max will incorporate its live sports content within its Standard and Premium tiers, while excluding it from the Basic with Ads tier.
JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games at WBD, stated, “Over the last year plus, we had the opportunity to assess how users engage with sports and news on Max, and we’ve been actively involved in exploring ways to evolve the sports distribution ecosystem in the U.S. We believe that the best place for that content for now is within the Standard and Premium tiers. This update ensures that subscribers can continue to enjoy that coveted access within Max, while also enabling ongoing investment in our premium sports and news portfolio.”
This new approach coincides with significant changes in the quality of live sports rights under the WBD umbrella. When initial plans for the B/R Sports add-on were revealed, WBD had not yet lost its NBA games package. Now, with only March Madness and NHL games remaining (in addition to some other properties like the French Open and a few mid-season NASCAR races), a separate sports tier on Max would likely have limited appeal.
Initially, WBD indicated that Max’s B/R Sports add-on would start as a complimentary offering for subscribers before transitioning to a paid tier. However, the streaming service never progressed to actually charging for the add-on, and the concept has now been completely scrapped. This announcement should be a welcome surprise for current Standard or Premium tier Max subscribers, who will retain access to WBD’s live sports portfolio at no additional cost.
