Max Will Use Free Sports To Lure New Streaming Subscribers

Live sports will be a crucial part of Max’s evolution as a streaming service.

Warner Bros. Discovery will offer game broadcasts for no additional charge when it launches the Max sports tier this fall, coinciding with the MLB playoffs, according to Bloomberg. 

WBD has traditionally put its package of games on cable channels like TBS and TNT.

Max currently costs $10 per month with ads and $16 without ads, and the new report claims customers will have to start paying extra for the sports content during the big spring events of March Madness, the NBA and NHL playoffs.

Last month, WBD CEO David Zaslav said the company had digital rights for all its sports deals — but a source told FOS at the time that it was still discussing game simulcasts on Max with WBD.

As of now, there are no indications that any sports content will be exclusively available on Max. It is also unclear how much the sports tier will cost, or whether it could simply be a part of the higher-priced, ad-free Max subscription.