Warner streaming service to offer 3 tiers
November 30, 2018
AT&T has unveiled plans to offer three versions of its new streaming service that will launch in the US late next year offering original movies and TV series from Warner Bros, Turner and HBO.
The service will seek to take on the likes of Netflix and Disney’s soon to launch OTT service, and is part of AT&T’s venture into new markets from wireless and traditional pay-TV services. The company’s acquisition of Time Warner, renamed WarnerMedia, turned it into a major producer of film and television content, though the larger wireless unit still generates more revenue.
WarnerMedia plans an entry-level streaming service focused on movies, a second tier with original programming and more films and a bundle tier with content from the first two plus classic films, comedy and children’s programming.
WarnerMedia chief John Stankey said the bundles would grow over time to include content licensed from other media companies.
“We understand that this product has to be good enough” to get viewers to spend money on it, Stankey said.
He said that other media companies should expect to “pivot” in the coming months to adjust to the new strategy that pulls many of WarnerMedia’s movies and TV series off other libraries and onto AT&T’s planned on-demand service.
“Some of the incumbents should expect that their libraries are going to become a lot thinner,” Stankey added.