Warner Sets Streaming Plan

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WarnerMedia announced July 9 the launch of HBO Max, its entry into the increasingly crowded digital streaming field.

AT&T Inc.-owned WarnerMedia said in a press release that the streaming service will contain 10,000 hours of premium content and will launch in March 2020.

Content includes Warner Bros. television intellectual property like ’90s sitcom “Friends,” which will move from Netflix Inc. There are also plans for a slate of original series produced by Greg Berlanti and Reese Witherspoon, who are already under contract with WarnerMedia.

A spokesman said the streaming company’s headquarters would be located adjacent to Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.’s Burbank studios.

WarnerMedia did not say how much the subscription service would cost consumers.

The company first announced plans for a direct-to-consumer service to compete with Netflix and other online streaming services last year amid a regulatory review of telecom giant AT&T’s purchase of the entertainment company.

HBO Max is one of several streaming services being developed by legacy studios as they attempt to grab a share of the rapidly growing market.

Walt Disney Co.’s Disney Plus subscription service is slated to premier in November, and a free, ad-supported platform from Comcast Corp.-owned NBCUniversal is set to arrive in the first quarter of 2020.

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