Warner Bros. Discovery will be adding a live sports tier to its Max streaming service on Thursday, October 5.
The Bleacher Report Sports add-on will be free through February 29 and costs $9.99 a month after that.
The sports tier will feature 300 live games annually from Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, the National Basketball Association, the college basketball championship tournament (March Madness) and other leagues, plus The Match golf events and studio programming including Inside the NBA with Charles Barkley and the gang.
Sports are slowly but surely migrating to streaming as media companies look to make the programming on their direct-to-consumer services broader in order to attract and keep subscribers and turn red ink into profits.
“We’re thrilled to offer WBD’s incredible portfolio of premium U.S. live sports — featuring simulcasts of our must-see MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA and U.S. Soccer events, among others — as part of B/R Sports Add-On’s wide assortment of compelling multi-sport content on Max,” JB Perrette, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO and president, global streaming and games, said. “The greatest collection of Entertainment, News and now Sports all in one place … this makes Max the most complete streaming service for consumers and reaffirms why Max is truly The One To Watch.”
Warner Bros. Discovery last month announced the addition of live news to Max with CNN Max and WBD CEO David Zaslav said that the company was making plans to add sports to the streaming service.
“We want to be everywhere sports fans are and our unparalleled offering of leading sports, combined with the power of the Bleacher Report brand and content, including the unique way B/R engages with young sports fans, all delivered through the new Max platform will enable us to broaden our audience and delight new fans,” Luis Silberwasser, chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, said. "We are uniquely positioned to offer viewers the best selection of premium sports and exciting events and fan-focused additional programming, all within a fantastic multi-sport product that will meet the evolving consumption needs of our viewers – both casual and hardcore sports fans.”
All live games airing on a Warner Bros. Discovery linear network (including TNT, TBS and truTV) will be available on Max through the B/R Sports Add-On.
There’s no word on how cable operators will react to exclusive sports content being available via Max.
In addition to live game coverage, the B/R Sports Add-on will offer live pre- and postgame programming and extensive VOD content, including sports documentaries (from the HBO Sports and WBD Sports libraries), Bleacher Report highlights and events, special features and extended series.
All of Bleacher Report’s live video, including originally produced coverage of the NFL Draft, popular podcasts featuring Mookie Betts, Von Miller, Micah Parsons and Travis Hunter and Creator League competitions, among others, will be available on Max through the B/R Sports Add-On.
During the free tryout period for the Bleacher Report Sports tier, the service will feature attractive events including the MLB postseason, 60 NHL games, NBA Opening Night, the NBA In-Season Tournament, The NHL Winter Classic and the NBA All-Star festivities.
After that it will have high-profile events such as the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball championship game and Final Four, the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs and the NBA playoffs.
