Key Factors
- Fewer than 30% of People use conventional cable or satellite tv for pc TV, citing rising prices.
- HBO Max surprises subscribers with new option to watch a few of the hottest exhibits.
- Subscriber progress continues, regardless of value hikes and removing of CNN from the streaming lineup.
Inflation has hit many People laborious, and if individuals are chopping on meals bills and eating out much less, it’s comprehensible that also they are chopping down on nonessential bills comparable to leisure.
Cable and satellite tv for pc prices have risen for many years, a key issue contributing to wire‑chopping, in response to a current survey by All About Cookies.
Key findings on cord-cutting
- Lower than 30% of People nonetheless use conventional cable or satellite tv for pc TV providers.
- Almost 64% of cord-cutters dropped a streaming service prior to now 12 months as a consequence of rising prices or switched to a less expensive or ad-supported plan.
- Solely 5% of cord-cutters remorse the change from cable.
- People subscribe to three.4 streaming providers on common, and over 1 / 4 (27%) subscribe to 5 or extra. The typical quantity folks spend on streaming subscriptions is $48.13 monthly.
Concurrently, because the variety of cord-cutters grows, the variety of streamers will increase, and the competitors among the many main streaming suppliers is heating up.
Value stays to be a significant component for a lot of subscribers, and the bulk surveyed by Forbes affirm they’d lower providers if costs elevated.
Amid all of the aggressive competitors between high streaming suppliers, a number of giants have lately introduced necessary upgrades to retain outdated and entice new subscribers. For instance, YouTube TV has simply confirmed the launch of greater than 10 genre-specific packages, aiming to supply extra selection and adaptability to subscribers.
In the latest growth, HBO Max introduced a serious improve for a lot of of its U.S. prospects.
HBO Max launches curated channels operating “Friends,” Harry Potter films, “Game of Thrones,” and extra 24/7. — Supply: Shutterstock
HBO Max launches new curated channels operating “Friends,” “Game of Thrones”
HBO Max introduced on Dec. 12 that it has launched curated channels that includes themed binge-worthy exhibits. The specifically curated themed channels shall be out there for choose HBO Max customers’ grownup profiles throughout all subscription tiers.
The favored titles from the HBO Max portfolio embody: “Friends,” the Harry Potter films, “Game of Thrones,” and far more.
Curated channels had been designed to make the streaming service much more handy, enabling customers to seamlessly enter a steady feed of curated episodes from fan-favorite exhibits, whereas permitting them to simply discover a most well-liked episode.
Channels out there on HBO Max at launch embody:
- “The Big Bang Theory”: Bazinga! Each nerd-centric episode.
- DC: Enter the DC Universe that includes your favourite heroes, villains, and sidekicks.
- “Friends”: All 10 seasons of the beloved sitcom, on a regular basis.
- Harry Potter: The eight-film assortment plus extra from the wizarding world.
- Vacation Favorites: It’s all the time the season.
- Grownup Animation: Fashionable grownup animated collection from fan favorites to current hits.
- Center-earth: Tolkien’s traditional tales come to life throughout two epic trilogies.
- “Rick and Morty”: Each season of the multiverse-spanning grownup animation collection.
- “The Sopranos”: All seasons of the legendary HBO Unique collection and extra.
- “Sex and the City”: Hit collection a couple of author and her pals navigating life and love in New York Metropolis and extra.
- True Crime: Surprising documentaries ripped straight from the headlines.
- World of Westeros: An epic assortment of tales from the Seven Kingdoms.
When customers tune right into a channel, they’ll enter the episode enjoying at that second, however they will use playback controls to start out the following queued episode or to return to the earlier one.
“The experience is designed for moments when users want a steady stream of fan favorites, without having to decide what to watch next. It offers another effortless way to explore and discover the iconic, robust library HBO Max has to offer,” said Warner Bros. Discovery Product EVP Liesel Kipp in a press launch.
Business observers notice that curated channels are half of a bigger development in streaming to make discovery simpler. As The Verge reported, the rollout is meant to cut back “decision fatigue, and let people watch ‘together’ from far away.”
Moreover, HBO Max’s unique programming additionally offred titles comparable to: “IT: Welcome to Derry,” “I Love LA,” “The Chair Company,” “The Seduction,” and documentaries comparable to “Alex vs. ARod,” “Thoughts and Prayers,” and extra.
The streaming large has additionally revealed thrilling plans for 2026 with the next new collection and new seasons of returning exhibits.
New collection:
- “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”
- “Half Man”
- “DTF St. Louis” and “Lanterns”
New seasons:
- “Industry”
- “Hacks”
- “The Pitt”
- “Euphoria”
- “House of the Dragon”
HBO Max’s choices additionally included an unlimited portfolio of films from Warner Bros. Photos, DC Studios, Turner Basic Films, A24, Studio Ghibli, and extra.
Latest value hikes and different dangerous information for HBO Max subscribers
In September, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav spoke on the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Expertise Convention, throughout which he highlighted HBO Max’s rising reputation, but in addition prompt that the standard of the corporate’s movement image and TV manufacturing is permitting the corporate to boost costs.
The final time Warner Bros. Discovery raised costs on its streaming service was in June 2024.
Alex MacCallum, CNN’s government VP of digital services and products, commented on the choice, saying the collaboration was helpful for CNN.
The choice to take away CNN programming from HBO Max is related to CNN’s plan to launch a brand new direct-to-consumer streaming providing later this 12 months.
Extra Streaming:
Regardless of current adjustments, Warner Bros. Discovery has not misplaced subscribers. Quite the opposite, this 12 months has been profitable for the corporate’s streaming service when it comes to the variety of subscribers.
Within the Q3 2025 earnings report, the corporate reported 128.0 million subscribers, up 2.3 million quarter over quarter. Whereas these should not the variety of HBO Max subscribers solely, however somewhat a complete variety of subscribers throughout all of Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming providers, it is a vital metric for the corporate.
It stays to be seen what’s going to occur with its buyer base if the deal to be acquired by Netflix proceeds. In the meantime, HBO Max is aiming to please and entice many subscribers.
“Friends,” Harry Potter franchise, “Game of Thrones” have tens of millions of followers
There are just a few exhibits that make viewers fall in love with the characters, and get hooked on the story strains and the common doses of laughter, intrigue, and magic. For me, the 2 comedy exhibits I can watch again and again and by no means get bored are “Frasier” and “Seinfeld.”
There are others, however the two simply high my checklist relating to sitcoms.
One present that has received the hearts of individuals all over the world is “Friends.” It’s a kind of sorts of exhibits that means that you can tune in once more at any season, and burst out laughing at Chandler’s ironic jokes or Phoebe’s quirks.
It’s laborious to evaluate what number of followers “Friends” has all over the world, however even the variety of U.S. viewers who watched the collection finale speaks volumes about its reputation. In line with The New York Occasions, the ultimate episode was watched by 52.5 million viewers.
“The ‘Friends’ finale ranks behind the finales of only ‘M*A*S*H’ on CBS in 1983 (106 million viewers), ‘Cheers’ on NBC in 1993 (80.4 million), and ‘Seinfeld’ on NBC in 1998 (76.3 million),” wrote Invoice Carter for The New York Occasions in 2004.
Relating to the beloved Harry Potter films, it’s even tougher to estimate a worldwide fan base, as a result of reputation of the books alone. By 2018, the unique seven books, together with three companion volumes, offered greater than 500 million copies worldwide in dozens of languages, in response to official franchise reporting.
“Game of Thrones” is one other cultural sensation that managed to draw a document viewership on HBO and that maintains a broad, energetic, and worldwide fan base.
“By season seven, the average viewer numbers had grown to 32.8 million per episode across all platforms. The series finale was viewed by 19.3 million people across HBO’s platforms, becoming the network’s most watched episode,” writes Warner Bros. Fandom.
Contemplating the massive fan bases for a lot of of those beloved exhibits, HBO Max has positively made a serious transfer to please the nostalgic viewers.
Concerning the authors
Nina Zdinjak is a finance journalist with over 10 years of expertise protecting cash, markets, and enterprise information. She makes a speciality of monetary reporting, investor exercise, hedge funds, and insider buying and selling. For 5 years, she served as a finance reporter at Insider Monkey, the place she lined hedge fund methods, SEC filings, and key market traits. Beforehand, she was an Affiliate Editor at Benzinga Hashish.
Celine is a author and editor with over 20 years of expertise and has lined numerous information, options, tutorial/analysis, and authorized matters. At TheStreet.com, Celine is a senior editor with expertise throughout retail, shares, investing, private finance, expertise, the financial system, and journey.
