Hot on the heels of live CNN coming to Max, a bevy of live sports is coming to the streamer in the form of a new add-on tier–and yes, you’ll (eventually) have to pay more to watch.
The new sports tier, which had been rumored earlier this summer, will be called the Bleacher Report Sports Add-On, and it will offer a “full slate” of Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, NBA, and U.S. Soccer events, along with NCAA March Madness matchups, according to Max parent Warner Bros. Discovery.
The add-on tier will launch October 5, just before the National League Division Series starts on October 7, and in time for the opening night of the NBA regular season and the beginning of the NHL season.
Existing Max subscribers will be able to stream the Bleacher Report Sports Add-On for free through February 29. After that, the add-on will cost $9.99 a month, in addition to your regular Max subscription. The add-on will be available to all Max subscribers, including those on Max’s ad-supported tier.
Overall, the add-on will let you stream more than 300 live games a year, including 60 live NHL regular season games, 65 NBA games, all the 2024 NCAA March Madness games broadcast on TNT, TBS, and truTV (including the Final Four and the NCAA Championship) , and various U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team and U.S. Women’s Soccer Team matches, in addition to the 2023 MLB postseason and select 2024 regular-season matchups.
It’s worth noting that many of the games streaming on the Bleacher Report Sports Add-On won’t be exclusive to Max; instead, they’ll be simulcast from various linear networks owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, including TNT, TBS, and truTV. Indeed, any live sports broadcast on those three networks will be streamed via the Bleacher Report add-on.
News of Max’s new sports add-on comes a little more than a week before the streamer rolls out CNN Max, a live news channel that will offer a smorgasbord of news programming, breaking stories, and analysis from top CNN anchors and commentators.
The Bleacher Report Sports Add-On represents Max’s most ambitious sports streaming effort yet.
Max has previously dabbled in live sports, broadcasting its first U.S. Women’s Soccer National Team matches at the beginning of the year as part of an eight-year deal with the U.S. Soccer Federation. The deal includes U.S. Men’s Soccer National Team matchups as well.
Plenty of other streamers offer live sports too, and in some cases–such as Apple’s MLS Season Pass–you must pay for the privilege to stream.
That said, Max’s Bleacher Report Sports Add-On marks the first time that a big streaming service has offered live sports as a paid add-on tier for existing subscribers. MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, in contrast, is a $15-a-month standalone offering, while Friday Night Baseball on Apple TV+ and Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime Video are free for all subscribers.
So, will Max subscribers be willing to pony up even more cash for live sports that they can–at least in some cases–watch elsewhere? Guess we’re about to find out.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer
Ben has been writing about technology and consumer electronics for more than 20 years. A PCWorld contributor since 2014, Ben joined TechHive in 2019, where he covers smart speakers, soundbars, and other smart and home-theater devices. You can follow Ben on Twitter.