HBO Max will be WarnerMedia's answer to Netflix, coming in the spring of 2020

NBC

"Friends."

• WarnerMedia is calling its upcoming streaming service "HBO Max," the company announced on Tuesday.
• The subscription service will include series and movies from HBO and other WarnerMedia brands like Warner Bros., DC Entertainment, CNN, TNT, TBS, the CW, and Crunchyroll, as well as original programming that's only available on the streaming service.
• It will launch commercially in the spring of 2020.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

WarnerMedia announced on Tuesday its answer to Netflix, which it is calling HBO Max.

The streaming service - which the company did not announce a price for - will offer the "best-of-the-best" from all of WarnerMedia's brands, the media giant said. It will include programming from HBO and other WarnerMedia brands like Warner Bros., DC Entertainment, CNN, TNT, TBS, the CW, as well as Otter Media's Crunchyroll and Rooster Teeth. It will also include original programming that's only available on the streaming service, such as the previously announced "Dune: Sisterhood" series that will be based on the Frank Herbert franchise.

Similar to Netflix, HBO Max will be a general-audience platform with programming for kids and families through to adults, and include titles for fans of niche genres like anime or adult animation.

HBO Max will launch to the public in the spring of 2020, a little later than originally expected. WarnerMedia had originally suggested it would launch the service in 2019, but later said it would roll it out in a beta then.

The Wall Street Journal reported in June that WarnerMedia planned to charge between $16-$17 per month for the service, compared to the $15 per month that HBO's standalone streaming subscription costs now.

WarnerMedia also announced a few major upcoming additions to the service on Tuesday. "Friends" will be leaving Netflix to stream exclusively on HBO Max when it launches. Other popular TV repeats like "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and "Pretty Little Liars" will also be coming to HBO Max. And the service will house some new shows from the CW, including "Batwoman" and the upcoming "Riverdale" spinoff "Katy Keene."

Read more: 'Friends' will leave Netflix at the end of this year

HBO Max's programming strategy is being led by Casey Bloys, HBO's programming president, and Kevin Reilly, chief content officer of HBO Max, overseeing its development of its originals and acquisitions, and president of WarnerMedia's entertainment networks. Tony Goncalves, CEO of Otter Media, is leading the platform's digital development, alongside general manager Andy Forssell, who also hails from Otter Media.