AEW announces details of PPV availability & launch date on HBO Max

After first being announced last October, AEW pay-per-views will finally be made available for purchase on HBO Max starting with this month’s All Out.

Announced by the company Wednesday in a press release, the events will be available to buy starting this Friday for U.S.-based HBO Max subscribers at the discounted rate of $39.99, a dip from the $49.99 offered by Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, PPV.com and linear TV providers.

Following a purchase, the PPVs will be available exclusively to six months and then will be available to all HBO Max subscribers. As noted in the release, the PPVs will be ad-free “with all marketing and promotions of AEW PPV events primarily centered on HBO Max.”

There is a line in the release that says “Purchase and access to PPV Content may vary by subscription provider” which means that availability to purchase PPVs will vary depending where the user purchased their HBO Max subscription. Unsupported devices are listed here.

PPVs will remain as a purchasing option for the aforementioned Prime, YouTube, PPV.com and linear providers. With a baseline HBO Max price (which includes ads) for $9.99/month, the total monthly commit remains the same for AEW fans, but with more content available using one option vs. the other.

Within the release was also revealed that All Out’s start time is moving up to 3 PM Eastern vs. the previously announced 8 PM PPV start time. While not specifically mentioned why, the show was going head-to-head with WWE Wrestlepalooza on ESPN’s new streaming service as that relationship kicks off.

Andrew Zarian first reported this past week that news was impending on the Max front.

When AEW announced it was re-upping with WBD in a new TV rights deal that kicked off this past January, the impending availability of PPVs on HBO Max was revealed. However, when AEW head Tony Khan was asked about an update on a media call earlier this year, he said there was no timetable ever given or an expectation that technology would be available in the first half of the year.