The first European countries will gain access to Warner Bros Discovery’s all-in-one streaming service Max next year.
- Countries were HBO Max is currently available, including The Netherlands and parts of Central & Eastern Europe, will get Max first, starting in the spring.
- Max Europe will integrate Eurosport and live simulcasts of local WBD channels.
- But viewers in countries including the UK and Ireland will need to sit tight until current deal with Sky lapses.
Speaking at the MIPCOM conference in Cannes, WBD International chief Gerhard Zeiler and head of streaming (Europe) Leah Hooper Rosa confirmed the rollout timescale for Europe.
Following rollout of Max into Latin America this year, Max will then go live in spring 2024 across Central and Eastern Europe, The Netherlands, Iberia and Nordic countries. Later in 2024, Max is planning to go live in additional European countries, expected to include France and Belgium.
Meanwhile, rollout of Max will begin in the Asia-Pacific region, before rollout is expected to return to Europe and reach countries including the UK and Ireland, currently covered by a content deal with Sky.
While the UK and Ireland, alongside Austria, Germany and Italy will need to wait longest for Max, details of the new Max service in Europe gives a taster to what’s to come.
What will Max offer European viewers?
- Max in Europe will offer live-streamed content from Eurosport and access to some of WBD’s local entertainment networks.
- In countries where it launches in spring, it will become the streaming home of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
- It will combine content currently available on HBO Max in Europe, plus the existing Discovery+ service.
- Film content includes Warner’s movie library, plus a number of Marvel movies.
Max rollout in the UK, Ireland
WBD is contractually tied down by a content agreement reached under former management, that allows Sky to be the home of HBO content. This is stopping Max from launching before 2025.
WBD has remained silent over the rollout of Max in countries where the Sky content deal is in place. And that’s unsurprising. Sky’s owner Comcast won’t be wanting to lose all of WBD’s content overnight. Any deal has the potential to determine Sky’s future dominance in the pay TV market and affect Comcast and WBD’s share prices. Therefore, out of reasons of commercial sensitivity, there’ll be scant detail for some time.
Marc Thornham