HBO Max goes live in UK, Ireland and APAC markets, confirms Harry Potter series debut

The HBO Max UK home page

Warner Bros Discovery (WBD)-owned streamer HBO Max goes live in the UK and Ireland today, as well as 12 new markets in Asia Pacific (APAC), as the platform comes close to completing its global roll-out.

JB Perrette

The service’s long-awaited arrival in the UK and Ireland completes its European campaign. Its APAC expansion covers Bhutan, Fiji, Kiribati, the Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

New Zealand remains one of the last remaining territories in which HBO Max will stream direct-to-consumer, with that launch scheduled for mid-2026.

All territories will be able to access entertainment brands and IP such as HBO, Harry Potter, the DC Universe, Cartoon Network, Max Originals, Discovery, TLC and a wide range of Hollywood movies.

TV content includes HBO and Max Originals such as House of the Dragon, The Last of Us and medical drama The Pitt, alongside A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and season three of dark young-adult series Euphoria, which premieres on April 13.

WBD has confirmed the first-ever scripted Harry Potter spin-off series, Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone, will debut at Christmas, while HBO Max will become the streaming home of TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland.

HBO original programming from around the globe will be available in the UK and Ireland for the first time. The titles will include France’s Privilèges, available from March 27; The Seduction, adapted from the classic novel Dangerous Liaisons; and Portobello, the first original production to come from Italy since the launch of the service there in January.

JB Perrette, CEO and president, global streaming and games at WBD, said: “Today is a huge day for HBO Max, as the service launches in the UK and Ireland and completes its roll-out across Europe, as well as significant expansion across Asia Pacific, marking 22 seamless launches in 2026 so far.

“The content line-up on our platform is truly unmatched, and we are particularly excited to be announcing this week that Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone will be coming to the service for Christmas, as a decade of new storytelling begins.”