2022 Entertainment and Sports

For those looking to simplify their streaming services, the latest news from Prime Video and HBO Max is certainly going to be exciting. 

Amazon has announced that HBO Max will once again be available through Prime Video. After the two streamers took a hiatus in 2021, the companies have worked together to provide a simpler streaming experience for customers. 

Currently, Prime subscribers can purchase the ad-free version of HBO Max for $14.99 per month. This comes with access to 15,000 hours of movies, TV shows, documentaries, and docu-series that are exclusive to HBO Max. 

For current Prime subscribers, having the Prime Video app will grant you access to content from HBO Max – no additional downloads or apps are necessary. While the subscription costs extra, it can be canceled at any time. 

“We strive to offer customers the best and widest selection of premium content available for their everyday viewing experience,” said Cem Sibay, vice president of Prime Video. “It’s been a truly milestone year for Prime Video, and we are humbled by the viewer engagement and critics’ response to our marquee releases. Now with the addition of HBO Max again, customers can easily add this subscription and enjoy even more award-winning and fan-favorite entertainment on Prime Video.” 

“Our common goal is to delight customers with great content and continue to collaborate so we can best serve our subscribers,” said J.B. Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. 

Prime is expanding its reach

In addition to HBO Max, Prime Video expanded this year to include Thursday Night Football. The partnership between Amazon and the NFL has been so successful that the groups announced the first ever Black Friday game to be streamed on Prime Video in 2023. 

At the five-week mark of the season, Thursday Night Football games were averaging 11 million viewers each week on Prime Video. This was up nearly 50% from the 2021 season – prior to the agreement between Amazon and the NFL. 

Consumers who enjoy Disney+ will soon have to pay a little more for the service.

In the company's Q2 earnings call, CEO Bob Chapek said Disney+ added 14.4 million new subscribers in the second quarter – a performance he called “excellent.” Now sitting pretty with more than 220 million subscribers on its books, the company has decided that Disney Plus Premium is worth another $3 per month.

Come December, subscribers will have to pony up $10.99 per month to keep using the premium version of the service. However, those who don't want to pay that much will have access to a new ad-supported tier that will be priced at $7.99 per month.

“With our new ad-supported Disney+ offering and an expanded lineup of plans across our entire streaming portfolio, we will be providing greater consumer choice at a variety of price points to cater to the diverse needs of our viewers and appeal to an even broader audience,” said Kareem Daniel, Chairman, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution.

ConsumerAffairs found that Disney+ fans can still get a deal on their subscription if they're willing to pay for a year upfront. Those who go that route will pay $109.99 for their year of service as opposed to $131.88 if they paid a monthly rate.

What Disney+ plans to offer for the extra cost

While some might think that Disney+ is primarily aimed at children, Disney officials say that isn't the case. They point out that almost half of Disney+ subscribers are adults without kids.

With its ownership of ABC, ESPN, FX, Hulu, and National Geographic, the company has a lot of content to pick from. In fact, it claims that, collectively, it has access to 100,000 movie titles, TV episodes, original shows, sports, and live events.

Chapek said Disney+ also has more than 500 local original titles in various stages of development and production in the pipeline, and 180 of those titles are slated to premiere this fiscal year.

Football fans who want to catch every moment of pro football action this season are getting their wish. The National Football League (NFL) announced that the league’s new exclusive video streaming subscription service – NFL+ – is now available everywhere.

NFL+ subscribers can access live out-of-market preseason games, live local and primetime regular season games, postseason games, live local and national audio for every game, NFL Network shows on-demand, NFL Films archives, and other football content on their phones, tablets, and other devices that can stream audio and video.

"Today marks an important day in the history of the National Football League with the launch of NFL+," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. "The passionate and dedicated football fans are the lifeblood of the NFL, and being able to reach and interact with them across multiple platforms is incredibly important to us.”

What NFL+ offers

The league said NFL+ marks the next evolution of the NFL's direct-to-consumer offering, building upon what the league developed with NFL Game Pass back in 2003.

To its credit, the NFL has made the service very affordable as far as subscriptions go. NFL+ is available in the NFL App across all app stores for $4.99/month or $39.99/year. If fans want extra, more granular content like full and condensed game replays, they can upgrade to NFL+ Premium for $9.99/month or $79.99/year. Premium subscribers will also get the new All-22 Coaches film add-on -- a new twist that allows viewers to gain a view of the game from above of the game that shows what all 22 players are doing on any given play. 

The only thing missing on NFL+ is that it won’t initially include exclusive regular-season games. Companies like Amazon own the rights to some NFL games for the next 7 to 11 years. However, that could change depending on how viewership habits develop.

“It’s another option we’ll consider with all of our other options,” Hans Schroeder, executive vice president and chief operating officer of NFL Media, said. “We are really excited about where NFL+ can go. As quickly as media and the sports distribution business continues to change and evolve, there are lots of different factors.”

NFL Sunday Ticket isn’t going away

The two million subscribers to NFL Sunday Ticket don’t have to sweat losing that subscription – at least not for a while. However, how they access that subscription may change in the short term.

DirecTV’s rights to the service have ended, and the NFL wants the next buyer of the service to pay more than $2 billion for it. The league is reportedly reviewing pitches from Apple, Amazon, and Disney to take over the service next. 

In the world of streaming, all the clamor lately has been on Netflix’s fall from grace. But where did all those eyeballs that Netflix lost go? Disney+ certainly got its fair share, but the old dog in the game – HBO – added 13 million subscribers in 2021 between its main service and HBO Max, growing its revenue stream to $7.7 billion in subscription revenue.

Added together, HBO and HBO Max have a combined 76.8 million subscribers worldwide. Admittedly, that’s a far cry from Netflix’s 221.64 million subscribers or Disney+’ 129.8 million, but parent company AT&T was gleeful about how HBO is performing. Company officials stated in a recent earnings report that the growth was driven by both international and domestic retail subscriber gains.

What makes HBO so attractive?

While Netflix and Amazon Prime have tried to expand their content libraries, HBO concentrated more on original programming, first-run exclusives, made-for-cable movies, and documentaries. Along the way, it kept its competitors’ hands off of content from Universal Pictures and 20th Century Studios, Sesame Street, and Wimbledon. Now that Warner Bros. and Discovery are part of the family, HBO has everything from Elmo to Wonder Woman all to itself.

“The first thing to know about HBO Max is that it has everything on HBO,'' CNET reported in a comparative review of Netflix and HBO Max. “Max also has exclusive originals that "normal" HBO  subscribers won't be able to watch.” 

“In general, HBO Max is ramping up its new originals, and we expect that to increase over time. Though its 8.0 rating is neck-and-neck with Prime Video, HBO Max consistently drops new releases, possesses a large back catalog and offers smooth, user-friendly features,” Rayome and Jackson said.