WarnerMedia doesn't seem to be sweating over Disney's successful launch of its streaming service. In fact, the company has praised the Mouse House for having a "good start" but it also comes with the question if their success can continue in the long run.
Disney Plus's release this month was met with a wide reception from audiences after garnering over 10 million subscribers from just Day 1. But WarnerMedia's HBO Max won't be launching its services until May 2020. However, CEO John Stankey isn't fretting over the competition and seems to be taking pointers on their lead and recently got to address it as well.
"[Disney] did a good job, good for them. They're off to a good start. Obviously, we start with a little different position with a different product, and we'd like to see as many HBO customers migrate as possible, Stankey said at Recode's Code Media conference on Monday as reported by Variety.
Stankey even noted Disney's success with its subscribers but was blunt at asking the desired question. "The bigger trick here for most of these streaming services is how many of those 10 million customers are there in 6 months?" Stankey added.
The CEO mainly mentioned the company's hopefulness to turn their already existing customers from HBO Now and HBO Go to HBO Max before the streaming service's release next May. HBO Max will be available in the market at the prize of $14.99 for the monthly subscription.
The company has assured that there will be an affordable option inclusive of ads launching in May 2021. WarnerMedia has slowly been working on building up its library for its upcoming launch without revealing much to the masses. The most recent big reveal suggests the studio is working on getting the creators and cast of the 1990's sitcom Friends for a reunion special which would be airing on HBO Max.
Disney already has its plans in motion with several Marvel-based series in development. Whereas Netflix, on the other hand, has signed a new multi-year deal with Nickelodeon. The era of streaming wars just seems to have begun.
