TV Answer Man, do you know when HBO Max will show another soccer game? And is this something new for them? I heard about it from my friend but I don’t recall any announcements. — Marlo, Fairfax, Virginia.
Marlo, HBO Max, the subscription streaming service which starts at $9.99 a month for its ads-included plan, this month began offering live soccer games, starting with the January 17th matchup between the U.S. Women’s National Team and New Zealand.
The broadcast kicked off an eight-year deal between Turner Broadcasting and the U.S. Soccer Federation. HBO Max is scheduled to stream 20 U.S. women’s and men’s matches each year with roughly half of those simulcast on the Turner sister networks, TNT and TBS.
The next scheduled live game on HBO Max will be tonight at 9:30 p.m. ET when the U.S. men’s team will play Serbia at 10 p.m. ET on the streaming service.
Turner also has the rights to NHL and NBA games so it’s possible that HBO Max could stream those leagues as well. But thus far, nothing has been announced.
HBO Max’s entry into live sports continues a trend in the subscription VOD industry with Paramount+, Hulu, Amazon all offering live games with their lineup of movies and TV shows. Netflix has been rumored to be interested in pursuing live sports rights as well but has yet to pull the trigger.
Marlo, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!
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— Phillip Swann
@tvanswerman
