STAMFORD, Conn., and NEW YORK—In a bid to boost the value of its video offerings, Charter Communications’ Spectrum brand said it is now offering Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max With Ads streaming service to all TV Select video customers at no additional cost.
The free addition of Max With Ads, which normally retails for $9.99 a month, is part of the new distribution agreement between Charter and Warner Bros. Discovery. That deal reflects the ongoing push by Charter and others to bolster the value of their video pay TV offerings by adding popular streaming services.
“Integrating services like Max into Spectrum TV Select furthers our goal of offering fulsome video products that include the best of linear and streaming programming,” said Tom Montemagno, executive vice president, programming acquisition for Charter. "Through our hybrid distribution strategy, customers in our most popular packages now have access to seamless entertainment with the ad-supported versions of Max, Disney+, ESPN+, Paramount+, ViX and Tennis Channel+, with more to come—up to an $80-per-month retail value by the first half of 2025. We appreciate WBD's shared commitment to reimagining the future of video and embracing a model that is good for our respective customers and both our companies."
With today's announcement, Spectrum TV Select customers can use the Xumo Stream Box or any other device that supports Max to immediately begin streaming new HBO Originals like "Dune: Prophecy” and “The Penguin;” Max Originals including the Emmy-winner “Hacks,” fan favorites like HBO Originals “Succession,” “The White Lotus,” “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City,” plus hit series from HGTV, TLC, ID, Adult Swim and more.
Max also is home to a collection of films from Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Classic Movies, A24, Studio Ghibli and others.
“Launching Max with Spectrum is a key part of our landmark deal with Charter, and an exciting new place for millions of homes across the country to enjoy our premium streaming content, including award-winning series and films from HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, and so much more,” Scott Miller, Warner Bros. Discovery president of networks and streaming distribution, said.
Over the past year, Spectrum has transformed all its major programming agreements to give customers greater overall package flexibility and the ability to include all the key streaming apps within Spectrum TV Select packages. By early next year, it will provide TV Select customers with the ad-supported versions of Max, Discovery+, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+, ESPN+, AMC+, BET+, ViX and Tennis Channel+ to offer customers seamless entertainment, in what the operator is calling "a first for the industry."
