Max Retains Sports, News for Standard, Premium Tiers

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has announced that starting March 30, 2025, B/R Sports and CNN Max will no longer be available to Max subscribers on the 'Basic with Ads' plan. Originally, WBD planned to charge $10 for these sports and news channels from February 2024 but decided to maintain access for Standard and Premium subscribers without additional cost. The decision comes as WBD aims to evolve the sports distribution ecosystem and focus on upselling the B/R Sports package with pay-TV partners. Despite losing NBA broadcasting rights, B/R Sports continues to offer a wide range of sports content, including MLB, NHL, and NCAA events. CNN Max serves as a streaming counterpart to CNN, with WBD exploring new monetization strategies amidst industry challenges. This change reflects WBD's shifting strategy in response to market competition and user engagement data.