Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) says it will continue to make sports programming available to Max subscribers for free if they have one of two premium plans that also allows them to stream content without commercial breaks.
The add-on, called B/R Sports, unlocks access to TNT Sports programming and some other international athletic events, including soccer and cycling events from Eurosport.
The B/R Sports add-on was introduced in September 2023, and was initially promoted as a $10 per month perk that would be offered for free on an introductory basis. In January 2024, the company pushed back a planned update to the add-on that would have charged customers for access to live sports programming through the Max app in an apparent bid to make the service more attractive to college basketball fans ahead of the NCAA March Madness tournament.
Now, WBD says the B/R Sports add-on will remain available without extra cost when a customer opts for the premium version of Max, priced at $17 per month.
That said, customers who opt for the ad-supported version of Max — which costs $10 on its own or $15 per month when bundled with Disney Plus and Hulu — will no longer have access to the B/R Sports add-on after March 30. The company is also pulling access to CNN Max, which offers live access to programs from the domestic and international CNN channels.
“Over the last year plus, we had the opportunity to assess how users engage with sports and news on Max, and we’ve been actively involved in exploring ways to evolve the sports distribution ecosystem in the U.S.,” J.B. Perrette, the CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games at WBD, said in a statement. “We believe that the best place for that content for now is within the standard and premium tiers.”
In addition to the NCAA March Madness tournament, the B/R Sports feature on Max also unlocks games from Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and NACAR that are available on TNT, TBS, Tru TV and other channels, as well as ancillary sports programming like college football and basketball, the Roland-Garros tennis tournament and professional cycling.
