People seem to be missing the "data" portion of this move. This will boost subscriptions to hbo max which will increase revenue but also bring in data - capturing what,where,when,etc you and your children watch. AMC tried to capture this with their A-list movie pass, but I'm guessing the studios decide to step in front of the movie theater chains with this move. Disney and everyone else with a streaming services are bound to follow warner.

I'm going to bet this will lead to people upgrading their home theater setup and I'm going to bet TV manufacturers are going to implement more data capturing features. Cameras to watch you watching TV. Where the eyeballs go. Mic to record what people say. Etc.

The studios are all in trying to be netflix now. And netflix will try to be a studio. And the fracturing of the streaming continues. Until disney buys up everyone...