AT&T appears to be almost entirely betting on the success of HBO Max while its AT&T TV NOW, DIRECTV and U-Verse video services continue to freefall.
The company is highly confident in its new HBO Max service, calling it a “terrific” product.
AT&T expects HBO Max to accumulate 50 million subscribers over the next few years. A number the company has pointed to before.
HBO Max is AT&T’s big video bet
While the expectation is HBO Max won’t properly launch until next year, the company has been massively promoting the service in earnings calls throughout 2019.
In the latest earnings call, things were no different. AT&T execs once again spent a good amount of time talking up HBO Max. Discussing how it will play a major role for the company.
At one point, AT&T execs referred to HBO Max as its video “workhorse” going forward. Adding that HBO Max is not Netflix and not Disney. It’s something “unique.”
AT&T’s other video services take a back seat
AT&T is not shy when it comes to video services. AT&T TV, AT&T TV NOW, DIRECTV, U-verse, WatchTV, HBO and now HBO Max all fall under the AT&T video umbrella.
However, other than HBO Max, none of the others seem to be occupying much of the company’s attention. Certainly, not to a level anywhere near HBO Max.
AT&T did state that its “other” video services are still important, although you would barely know this listening in on the earnings call. Instead, the message was very clearly HBO Max, HBO Max, HBO Max.
This is probably not that surprising when you consider how rapidly the other video services are losing subscribers.
As part of the same earnings release, AT&T confirmed AT&T TV NOW had lost another 195,000 subscribers. Overall, its other video services had lost more than one million subscribers combined.
That’s just in the third quarter alone. The picture for these other services is much worse when you look back over the entirety of the past twelve months.
AT&T now in full ‘streaming wars’ mode
It is not that surprising that AT&T is starting to up the HBO Max rhetoric. Not only is the company betting big on the service, but the service will be entering the streaming market during a volatile time.
HBO Max is expected to be a popular service and especially as it looks to immediately take the current HBO user base under its wing.
However, it is only one high profile service that’s en route and that’s before taking into account the current streaming establishment.
In the next few months, new streaming services will arrive from Apple, Disney and NBC. Just like those services, HBO Max will be competing for what is understood to be a limited consumer subscription pool.
Repeatedly telling consumers this is a great service and one you should subscribe to is part of a pre-launch approach to ensuring it hits the subscriber count AT&T is banking on.
How likely AT&T is to hit those subscriber goals in reality will likely become a little clearer tomorrow. That’s when the company plans to unveils firmer HBO Max details, including the price.