NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — When AT&T formed WarnerMedia after the acquisition of Time Warner last year, the company was widely reported to be eyeing a streaming service to compete with Netflix and Hulu.
Now, those plans appear to be taking shape. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, WarnerMedia has stepped back from plans to create a streaming app with different price points and will instead create a single streaming bundle, including content from Warner Bros, HBO, and Cinemax for about $17 a month.
The plan for the service that AT&T pitched at a presentation late last year included an “entry level” tier which included primarily movies, as well as a “premium” service with original programming along with the movies and third tier that included everything from the first two options along with an “extensive library of WarnerMedia content.”
The WSJ reported that after launch, WarnerMedia plans to continue to expand the service, with the addition of live sports and other events.
When it launches, WarnerMedia’s streaming entry will join an increasingly crowded marketplace and will likely impact some of the company’s own existing streaming products, such as HBO Go, which currently costs subscribers $15 a month.
As well, the service will cause tension with cable providers, who are already under increasing pressure from cord-cutters who drop their cable packages in exchange for streaming.
