Max Will Stream NBA, MLB, NHL and More Live Sports in October
The sports offering will roll out to US streaming customers.
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Warner Bros. Discovery is adding live sports on its Max streaming service beginning Oct. 5 for US customers. The company announced the add-on price tier in a press release on Tuesday. Launching as Bleacher Report (B/R) Sports, the package will enable viewers to access simulcast streams of NBA, NHL, NCAA, US Soccer games and more.
At rollout, subscribers can watch live sports programming on Max at no extra cost until the promo period ends on Feb. 29. The sports package will then cost $10 per month and will be available as an add-on for any Max subscription plan in the US.
Debuting under the WBD Sports umbrella, BR Sports will kick off with MLB's National League Division Series on Oct. 7, along with season openers for the NBA and NHL. The platform will include additional content from the Bleacher Report brand like live coverage, TV shows such as Inside the NBA, on-demand videos and international events like 24 Hours of Le Mans. While fans can still watch TNT, TBS and TruTV to catch their favorite teams or documentaries, the BR Sports tier is broadcasting more than 300 games -- including March Madness -- as they air live.
CEO David Zaslav first teased the possibility of live sports programming at an April virtual press event for Max. "We're a global leader in sports. And we're a global leader in news," he said. "And in a few months, we'll come back to you with details of our attack plan to use this important and differentiating live content to grow our streaming business even further."
An existing portfolio of sports brands has given WBD a leg up in launching livestreams in the streaming market. TNT Sports, Eurosport, Global Cycling Network (GCN) and Discovery are among the brands that may help further this strategy. Citing the company's success on linear and streaming in the UK with BT Sport, Zaslav said there's room to grow in other locales. "We believe there's significant opportunity in the streaming space for sports, and we look forward to leaning into this incremental growth avenue," he said.