Live sports are reportedly coming to Max. AEW’s broadcast partner Warner Brothers Discovery intends to add a sports tier to the MAX streaming service.
Alex Sherman of CNBC reports that Warner Brothers Discovery is targeting the beginning of the Major League Baseball playoffs for the debut of a sports tier for MAX, per sources. Sherman wrote that WBD plans to simulcast MLB, NBA. NHL, and NCAA games, on MAX. Additional content would be added to the service from Bleacher Report.
In the report, Sherman cited sources who noted that Warner Bros. Discovery intends to brand the new tier with the Bleacher Report name. Part of the goal would be to cater to a younger audience that would align with a digital brand. Additionally, Warner Bros. Discovery may charge users more for the sports tier, but the pricing has not been finalized.
As for specific plans, Sherman wrote that the current talks are based on Max simulcasting MLB playoff games on TBS and MAX, per sources. The MLB games would not be exclusive to MAX. Sherman wrote that NBA, which kicks off its regular season in October, has discussed a similar deal, where the games that air on the TNT network would simulcast on MAX.
Sherman wrote that any exclusive MAX games would begin next year, and they would likely be part of NBA’s rights renewal agreement.
Per Sherman, Warner Bros. Discovery declined to comment.
AEW, which has Dynamite on TBS and both Rampage and Collision on TNT, was not mentioned in the report.
Tony Khan Wants AEW To Land On Max
In a recent interview, AEW CEO Tony Khan stated that he wanted to see AEW’s library land on MAX. Speaking with Mike Johnson of PWInsider, Khan commented on a potential AEW streaming deal. He noted that his dream is for AEW’s content to be on MAX.
“When you look at all that, I think we have all the bones for a really, really strong streaming platform,” Tony Khan said. “I think it would be a very strong addition to any streaming platform. And my dream is that it all lands on MAX. I think it would be tremendous; right now, AEW: All Access is available on that, which is very cool. And hopefully, that’s a step in the right direction of getting our stuff streaming.
“We’ve got a great library altogether with everything I own. It’s 1000s of hours of great wrestling. And the AEW catalog has grown so much, considering it was stuff we bootstrapped and started the thing from scratch four years ago. And I believe the streaming service will happen. As to where it is and what platform it is that is something that I believe largely will be influenced by Warner Brothers.”
WrestleZone will provide more information as it becomes available.
