New Home For 'Friends': NBC Sitcom To Stream Exclusively On WarnerMedia's Service

Media and telecom giant AT&T Inc. T gave a name to its new streaming video service on Tuesday: HBO Max, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. 

What Happened

WarnerMedia, a division of AT&T, will launch its HBO Max service to consumers next year at $14.99 a month, a slightly higher price point than HBO Now, sources close to the matter told WSJ.

HBO Now already boasts more than 8 million subscribers.

In conjunction with the name announcement, the company said it will be the exclusive home of the classic '90s sitcom "Friends," WSJ said. 

The show is owned by WarnerMedia's Warner Bros. studio and was renewed at rival streaming platform Netflix, Inc. NFLX for 2019 at a cost of around $80 million.

HBO Max will pay $425 million for the rights to stream "Friends" on its platform for five years starting in 2020, WSJ said.

The "in-house" transaction still needs to be completed at a fair market value to satisfy all the stakeholders, known as "profit participants."

Other exclusive and original content making its way to HBO Max includes a thriller series, "The Flight Attendant," which stars Kaley Cuoco.

Reese Witherspoon signed with HBO Max to produce at least two movies that will "put a woman at the center of the story."

Why It's Important

At a time when WarnerMedia is reclaiming Netflix's second-most watched show, the company ironically continues to produce content to be shown on Netflix, WSJ reported.

Just last week, Warner Bros. confirmed it will make "Sandman" for Netflix.

What's Next

HBO Max should be available to consumers next spring, several months later than management's original plan to launch the new service by the end of 2019, according to WSJ. 

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Photo courtesy of AT&T.