HBO Max launch date finally confirmed

For the better part of a year now, Warner Media – the parent company of HBO – has been touting a new streaming service called HBO Max. Meant to be something of a beefed up HBO Now, the new streaming service will look more like Netflix or Hulu when it arrives. In addition to being the new home for all of HBO's content, it'll also feature TV shows from other studios, original programming, and some of Warner Bros's films.

It all sounds great, particularly if you're a fan of HBO's content, but throughout all of this marketing, we've never had a solid release date for the service. Back in October, Warner Media announced that HBO Max would be launching at some point in May, and left it at that until today, when it finally announced a launch date.

According to HBO Max on Twitter, the new service will finally, officially launch on May 27th, just barely making that May deadline Warner Media officially set for itself. When it arrives, it'll cost $14.99 per month – a fair amount more than Netflix's most popular subscription ($13) and Hulu's No Ads subscription ($11.99).

According to the HBO Max website, those who are already subscribed to HBO Now will get access to HBO Max at no extra cost, which is a nice touch. That only applies to HBO Now accounts that are billed through HBO itself, which is important to remember – if you get HBO Now through a perk with your carrier or something like that, you won't quality for this promo.

The streaming space is one that's getting increasingly crowded, with Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Disney, and now HBO and Warner Bros. going head-to-head. We'll see if HBO Max is able to grab some market share away from the others, but it certainly has an uphill battle in going up against these more established brands.