In Major Deal, Max and Discovery+ Will Join Charter Video Bundle as Warners Makes Big Move

The cable bundle is taking another step toward rebuilding itself.

Charter CEO on the AI Opportunity and the Value of Including Streaming Services in Carriage Deals

Warner Bros. Discovery and Charter Communications said Thursday that the companies have inked a multiyear early renewal agreement that will see a tier of Max, including HBO content and Discovery+, be made available to Spectrum TV Select packages without an extra fee for customers.

It marks the first time that HBO programming will be available in a standard cable bundle, and not sold as an add on.

Charter and Warners share some links, with cable mogul John Malone and Condé Nast owners, the Newhouse family, being among the largest investors in each company. Malone sits on the board of WBD and stepped down as a board observer from Charter earlier this year. Two members of the Newhouse family stepped down from the WBD board due to a Department of Justice inquiry into the ownership of both the media company and cable company.

Both sides had incentives to make the deal. Charter disclosed in July that it lost 393,000 residential pay TV subscribers in its latest quarter, compared with a loss of 189,000 customers in the year-ago period, with video revenue down 7.7 percent year-over-year. And this new deal with Charter also locks in rates for TNT, softening the blow to Warner Bros. Discovery as it is likely to lose the NBA next year (the company is currently suing the league over a rights package).

“This innovative partnership with Charter recognizes the value of our linear content and the investments we’ve made in premium original programming, sports and news, while also significantly expanding the distribution of Max’s ad-supported service to Spectrum’s millions of Select customers,” said David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.

Zaslav elaborated, “We did this agreement together nearly a year early to set a framework for the future and to provide more consumers access to our unparalleled content offering while giving the industry more resilience as it evolves. We are pleased this achieves each of our company’s objectives.”

TNT Sports' Latest Bet: More College Basketball

Charter CEO Chris Winfrey added, “The inclusion of the ad-supported version of Max and Discovery+ in our most popular packages at no additional cost ensures we provide the most value to our customers.”

While the streaming add ons are notable in the agreement, the linear pay TV deal includes an extension of Spectrum’s carriage of Warners channels, including TNT, CNN, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, Discovery, TBS, Adult Swim and Investigation Discovery.

The early renewal deal with WBD follows a similar multiyear agreement made by Charter with AMC Networks this month that will bring AMC+ to its Spectrum TV Select customers at no extra charge. Since making a breakthrough with Disney last September that brings Disney+ with ads to its Spectrum TV Select customers, Charter has rolled up a series of agreements with major studio conglomerates, including Paramount Global and TelevisaUnivision that bring services like Paramount+ and Vix into its bundle.

After the pact with Warners for Max and Discovery, Charter says that its Spectrum TV Select customers will get about $60 per month worth of streaming services thrown in to the package without an extra cost.

At a Goldman Sachs conference on Sept. 11, Charter CEO Winfrey noted, “we now feel that the ability for us to put that video charge on a broadband bill makes more sense because there’s real value that sits behind it.” And the exec emphasized, “I think we can advantage internet, which is very similar to what cable has done historically in the past … So more to come. But I think I think sitting back and just waiting for what we know will take place isn’t the right strategy. I think we can go more on the offense here.”

Warner Bros. Discovery Launches New Experiences Division, Including Theme Parks and Studio Tours