New Streaming Service "Max" Combines HBO Max With Discovery+ For $16/Month

Last summer when it was announced HBO+ and Discovery will merge into a single service within a year, it was followed by controversy in leadership and the fact that Discovery wouldn't end as a standalone service. So the exact end result has been somewhat hazy, but now, after a few months of rumors, that service has a name: Max, revealed by the New York Times.

According to the Times' sources, Max will debut in the next month or two and will cost about $16 a month, the price of HBO Max now. It was also reported that there will be several price tiers, including a less expensive one with advertising, following suit in similar models that Hulu, Netflix, and Disney+ have been experimenting with for a few months now.

Max's official announcement will be coming Wednesday, April 12, to discuss the product in a press event. The event will be a video webcast for the company's investors as well as the general public, according to a press release, A replay of the webcast will be available after the conclusion of the presentation.

Don't expect it to be flashy either. In contrast to Apple+ and Disney+'s big announcements, this presentation will be just over an hour and won't feature any stars, or cast members of any programs according to the people with knowledge. The event will act more on the corporate side with the confirmation of the new service's name, marketing plans, and upgrades. There could be some TV series and movie announcements sprinkled in.

The company has had a tumultuous past year with shelving and shutting down big-name projects with most of the moves being part of an effort to help pay down an enormous debt load of about $50 billion. In the process though, caused a crash in confidence from fans as the service removed content left and right without notice to creators.