Movie Theaters vs Streaming? Warner Bros’ HBO Max Plan Is a Complete Paradigm Shift

Greenberg Glusker entertainment attorney, Ryan Webb, provides insight into film production challenges as consumers stream content from home in the article, "Movie Theaters vs Streaming? Warner Bros’ HBO Max Plan Is a Complete Paradigm Shift," published by The Wrap on December 4, 2020.

Excerpt:

Ryan Webb, an attorney with Greenberg Glusker, observed that AT&T is under pressure to make HBO Max a success in the all-important streaming wars. “Warner Bros. needed to make a big splash to stay competitive, and this is no doubt a big splash,” he said. “It might very well be a long term shift. Consumers are going to be able to adapt quickly to the comfort of their own home, if they haven’t already.”

Webb did not think a move toward streaming would drive down production budgets, however. “The moviegoing audience is accustomed to a certain production value,” he said. “I don’t see studios cutting budgets. I think that right now what we’ll see is people are going to become accustomed to watching movies in their own home, and that in itself is going to be a difficult experience for them to give up all of a sudden.”

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