Ad-supported Max memberships will lose access to B/R Sports and CNN Max on March 30th. These programmatic live channels now require an ad-free Standard or Premium subscription.
B/R Sports became a free add-on for all Max subscribers in September 2023. At that time, Max described the live sports channel as a temporary promotional offer—customers could enjoy B/R Sports for free until February 2024, but it would cost $10 a month thereafter. Oddly, the fee was never implemented, and Warner Bros Discovery never provided a reason as to why.
One month before the addition of B/R Sports, Max users gained access to an adulterated version of CNN called CNN Max. It’s very rerun-heavy and doesn’t follow the same live schedule as the cable version of CNN (in fact, it’s more like CNN International), but it’s a nice perk for Max subscribers, particularly those on the $10 ad-supported tier. CNN Max was intended as a replacement for the failed CNN+ service, which did cost money, so viewers were always concerned that the add-on would eventually lose its free status.
Now, in a deceptively dense press release, Warner Bros Discovery says that it will continue providing B/R Sports and CNN Max as free add-ons for Standard and Premium subscribers. The catch, of course, is that ad-supported members on the Max Basic tier are losing access to these programmatic channels.
Warner Bros Discovery is also sending out a notice to inform Max Basic customers of this change. One of our editors received the notice via email, so I’ve supplied a condensed version below.
“We hope you’ve enjoyed free access to CNN Max and B/R Sports on your With Ads plan, which we offered on a limited-time, promotional basis. Starting on March 30, 2025, this promotional access will come to an end on the With Ads subscription tier … If you have any questions or would like more information, visit our Help Center.”
Max has not provided a sufficient reason for this change. The company’s CEO and President of Global Streaming and Games, JB Perrette, simply states that Max is “[evolving] the sports distribution ecosystem in the U.S.”
I don’t want to over-analyze Warner Bros Discovery’s unintelligible corporate jargon. The company clearly doesn’t want to explain why it’s removing B/R Sports and CNN Max from the ad-supported Max tier. But it’s clear that Max, like many rival streaming services, is trying to eek some money out of sports and news content.
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So, it’s time to make a big-brain assumption that may or may not be true. Let’s start with some basic facts: ad-supported streaming memberships are more profitable than their ad-free counterparts, and live content on Max always contains ads regardless of your membership tier.
It’s possible that Standard and Premium subscribers who spend all of their time watching CNN Max generate more revenue for Warner Bros Discovery than subscribers on the ad-supported plan. They pay more money than the ad-supported customers, yet they still see ads. If this is true, then removing sports and news channels from Max’s ad-supported plan is a quick and easy way of making more money. Customers who actively watch these channels will upgrade to the Standard plan and pay more each month, while those who don’t care about sports or news will just stick with their current plan.
My speculation could be dead wrong, so take it with a grain of salt. Anyways, Max will remove B/R Sports and CNN Max from the ad-supported Basic subscription on March 30th. Beyond that date, you’ll need a Standard or Premium subscription to access these live channels.
Source: Max
