So if i understand correctly HBO Max currently has 0 subscribers in the UK and not only will you need to select in between 4 tiers of HBO Max you will on top of that need to pay TNT Sports streaming subscription extra? So around £35 per month minimum or no cycling? Eurosport subscription meanwhile was £7?
How much do you reckon would cycling coverage cost you on Sky Sports and i assume a lot of households are already paying some subscription for Sky Sports?
the TNT sports thing isnt really changing that much, its just HBO Max are going to "host" the streaming side instead of Discovery +. It will just mean you have to use another different app/website to watch it, maybe this one will be better app.
the rest of the HBO Max thing is just an entertainment content thing, and for years HBO have had a deal with Sky that their shows like Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon/Sopranos/Last of us etc etc were part of the Sky entertainment subs on their Sky Atlantic channel.
but HBO probably dont make as much money as theyd like from the setup, and theyre making this new Harry Potter series, which they knew they can totally cash in on, so Sky and HBO were at loggerheads for a while sorting out some kind of deal and this is the culmination of it, not sure what happens to Sky Atlantic yet, but Sky are bringing back Sky One as their main entertainment show channel.
and fwiw Sky subscribers (even those on the basic Essentials package) will get HBOs standard ad supported tier,at no additional cost, to begin with, whilst noting Sky price rises alwayas happen in April, so quoting prices now is probably a mistake. how that works for customers still with satellite, and not the streaming boxes, who knows as it doesnt sound like HBO are bagging a space on the EPG, but maybe they are.
as for Sky sports, unsurprisingly there ppm cost is very similar to TNT, ranging from 20 to 35 quid, like they charge 20 per month to watch F1.
cycling as I keep reminding people doesnt pull in vast audience numbers to the point its worth Sky bidding for rights for things, as theyd rather bid for rights for things the majority of their viewers want to watch, which is not cycling, Sky are football, darts, cricket,NFL, F1, rugby,golf,boxing probably in that order, with a bunch of kind of other sports to fill in the gaps.
I still think if WBD are going to be outbid for cycling content, it will come down to the likes of DAZN who are trying to break into the UK market and disrupt Sky/TNT, or Amazon who have kind of had a toe in the water with some premier league football rights, but dont appear to be looking to continue as a sports subscription content provider.
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