Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max Scraps Plan to Launch Separate Sports Tier

variety.com:

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor Say farewell to new streaming concepts like “B/R Sports” and “CNN Max.” They will vanish before we ever really got to know them.

Warner Bros. Discovery reversed plans announced in September of 2023 to launch a premium tier for sports programming on Max, and said it also would end an experiment called “CNN Max” that attempted to create a new CNN tier for subscribers to the streaming service. “Over the last year plus, we had the opportunity to assess how users engage with sports and news on Max, and we’ve been actively involved in exploring ways to evolve the sports distribution ecosystem in the U.S.

We believe that the best place for that content for now is within the Standard and Premium tiers,” said JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games, WBD. “This update ensures that subscribers can continue to enjoy that coveted access within Max, while also enabling ongoing investment in our premium sports and news portfolio.” The decision was unveiled as Warner Bros.

Discovery faces headwinds in the sports arena. After the end of the current NBA season, the company will lose access to the live game telecasts that have filled the schedule of the TNT cable network for years.