Max, the streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, adds a live sports tier in the United States on October 5. The Bleacher Report Sports add-on will cost $9.99 per month, with current Max subscribers getting the tier for free until February 29, 2024.
The next level of sports will feature live games from Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and American Football. These games will continue to air on Warner Bros. cable networks. Discovery, including TNT, TBS and TruTV.
In addition to live matches, the sports level will offer live coverage from the Warner Bros.-owned sports outlet. Discovery. Launderer’s Report as well as live “selected” international sporting events and “extended” video-on-demand content, including sports documentaries.
Subscribers to any of the Max plans can add the Bleacher Report Sports tier for an additional $9.99/month. According to Max, live sports will air the same ads “that aired during the event’s telecast on TBS, TNT or truTV.” The streamer also notes that you may not be able to stream certain games due to regional outages.
Warner Bros. CEO Discovery’s David Zaslav has been hinting at adding live sports to Max for months, and previous reports suggested the streaming service was preparing to launch the new tier in time for the MLB playoffs.
As more people abandon cable, sports have become an essential part of the streaming offering. In addition to Max, Apple TV Plus, Amazon Prime Video, Paramount Plus and others all integrate live sports in one way or another, while Disney mulls the future of ESPN and streaming.
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