WarnerMedia confirms HBO Max launch date for first European territories

HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform, will launch in Europe on October 26 with Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain and Andorra its first territories.

Johannes Larcher

A phased global roll-out will see Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia added early in 2022.

Johannes Larcher, head of HBO Max International, said: “WarnerMedia movies and series like Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and The Big Bang Theory are passionately consumed by fans all across Europe, and HBO Max has been created to provide them with the most intuitive and convenient viewing experience to watch these and a diverse range of other amazing titles.”

HBO Max will be available to new customers as well as existing customers of HBO España, HBO Nordic, HBO Go and HBO Portugal (billed either directly or via eligible partners).

In May this year HBO Max celebrated its one-year anniversary in the US and in June it launched in 39 territories across Latin America and the Caribbean, marking its first availability outside the US.

WarnerMedia, which is set to merge with Discovery to form Warner Bros Discovery, had previously been set to launch HBO Max in 21 countries in Europe by the end of 2021, but expanding the reach of the streamer in Latin America has since taken priority.

EMEA general manager Christina Sulebakk is overseeing the roll-out of HBO Max in EMEA and said at Series Mania last week that after the rebranding of the existing HBO direct-to-consumer services, it will begin to launch in new markets in a staggered way “when we have a good offer to bring in consumers.”

The platform isn’t expected to roll out in the UK, Germany or Italy until at least 2025, when HBO’s existing output deal with European player Sky expires.