AT&T to Convert 'as Many' Subs to HBO Max ‘as Quickly as We Can,’ Says CFO

Nearly half of HBO’s 50 million U.S. subscribers by the end of 2025 will be HBO Max direct-to-consumer streaming customers, AT&T Chief Financial Officer John Stephens told the WarnerMedia Day event Tuesday in Burbank. “We have a running start.” HBO “linear” and HBO Now U.S. subscribers will number about 34 million by Dec. 31, eligible to get HBO Max free when the $14.99 monthly service launches in May, he said. About 10 million of those subscribers are on AT&T’s “video platforms,” and they, too, will be “immediately eligible” for HBO Max “at no additional charge,” he said. WarnerMedia will work with distributors to move other HBO and HBO Now customers to HBO Max, no extra charge, he said. “We’ll convert as many as we can, as quickly as we can.” Annual “incremental revenue” from HBO Max is expected to reach $5 billion by the end of 2025, said Stephens.