Years ago when you wanted to look at television you turned it on and hoped the antenna was in a good mood. Times have changed, however, and streaming services have revolutionized everything about loafing on the couch like a lazy bum.
HBO Max, which launched last may, presents content from the foundational cable network and also acts as a conduit for Warner Bros. material from around the entertainment galaxy. It’s where one will be able to view Zack Snyder’s Justice League in just a few days, and where, controversially, Warner Bros.’s 2021 feature films will end up on a day-and-date basis with theaters. And starting in June it will have a new and cheaper tier.
As reported by CNET, parent company AT&T announced that a less expensive version with commercials is on its way. The current monthly rate is $14.99. The new tier’s cost remains unknown.
There is, however, a catch. Those Warner Bros. film titles, particularly the heavily anticipated Matrix 4, The Suicide Squad, and Dune, will not be available to subscribers of Diet HBO Max.
There’s precedent for this, to a degree, in the current Wild West of streaming. Disney+ subscribers pay $6.99, but for big premieres (so far just Mulan and Raya and the Last Dragon) there’s an add-on of $30. Those who pay get unlimited access to the title (kids do like to watch cartoons over and over) until they “graduate” into the main D+ library.
Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming bet, is trying a different path, going free-with-ads for roughly two-thirds the catalogue, $5 for access to everything (but still with ads), and $10 for premium plus, which gets you everything and no ads. Peacock respects you enough not to bill you at a “.99” price point, but have yet to debut any motion pictures that would have only had a theatrical exhibition were it not for the coronavirus pandemic.
Jason Kilar, CEO of WarnerMedia, said that HBO programming that originally ran without ads will not have commercial breaks on this new tier. In other words you don’t have to worry about Ralph Cifaretto getting interrupted as he teaches Jackie Jr. how to make macaroni. That would have been a sign of disrespect.
— On With the Show! See the 2021 Hollywood Portfolio
— Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins on The Silence of the Lambs’ Legacy
— X-Rated: The Myths and Legends of Midnight Cowboy
— Michael B. Jordan on Losing Chadwick Boseman
— Justice League: The Heartbreaking True Story of the Snyder Cut
— Watch Zendaya Answer the Personality-Revealing Proust Questionnaire
— Why Mia Farrow Is Still Scared of Woody Allen
— Old Hollywood Book Club: Lauren Bacall’s Long, Lucky Life
— From the Archive: Inside Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall’s Legendary Hollywood Romance
— Not a subscriber? Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.