X

AT&T plans HBO-based streaming service bundled with Turner, Warner Bros. shows and movies

No details on how much it'll cost, except that it'll definitely be more than HBO Now's $15 a month.

Joan E. Solsman Former Senior Reporter
Joan E. Solsman was CNET's senior media reporter, covering the intersection of entertainment and technology. She's reported from locations spanning from Disneyland to Serbian refugee camps, and she previously wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She bikes to get almost everywhere and has been doored only once.
Expertise Streaming video, film, television and music; virtual, augmented and mixed reality; deep fakes and synthetic media; content moderation and misinformation online Credentials
  • Three Folio Eddie award wins: 2018 science & technology writing (Cartoon bunnies are hacking your brain), 2021 analysis (Deepfakes' election threat isn't what you'd think) and 2022 culture article (Apple's CODA Takes You Into an Inner World of Sign)
See full bio
Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
See full bio
Joan E. Solsman
Dara Kerr
2 min read
A still from HBO's Game of Thrones.

HBO, already available as a virtual subscription, is going to be the anchor for a new streaming service that AT&T wants to launch next year. 

 HBO

AT&T , fresh off its $85 billion takeover of Time Warner this summer, plans to launch a new streaming service late next year anchored by HBO that will bundle in movies and shows from its other properties, like Turner's TBS or the Warner Bros. film studio. 

It's the latest in a mind-numbing cascade of subscription video services, be they niche efforts or titanic new ventures from Hollywood giants. With deep-pocketed tech companies like Netflix, Amazon and Apple pouring money into producing original programming, companies like AT&T are ramping up TV offerings, while traditional Hollywood giants are gearing up to bring their own battle online. AT&T's HBO bundle will launch the same year as Disney's long-planned Netflix competitor, unofficially referred to as Disneyflix. 

Watch this: AT&T will come out with yet another streaming service

John Stankey -- an AT&T executive in charge of WarnerMedia, as the company renamed Time Warner -- didn't seem fazed by the competitive landscape. "My job isn't to build another Netflix," he said, speaking Wednesday at the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit in Los Angeles.

He didn't detail how much the service would cost, but he said it would cost more than the $15-a-month rate for HBO Now, its existing stand-alone subscription for all of HBO's programming.

"We're not going to put pricing out there until we get on the market," Stankey said. 

AT&T plans to launch the new service in the last three months of 2019. While it'll be centered around HBO and incorporate programming from WarnerMedia's other brands, it won't include live news like CNN. WarnerMedia is home to Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS and other networks. It also owns the Warner Bros. film studio, which has been on a hot streak lately with hits like Crazy Rich Asians, The Nun and A Star Is Born.

Game of Thrones final season: Everything we know about 2019's epic drama.

Culture: From film and television to social media and games, here's your place for the lighter side of tech.