WarnerMedia takes full HBO Lat Am control

US conglomerate WarnerMedia has taken full ownership of HBO-branded services across Latin America after acquiring Ole Communications’ stakes in two joint ventures in the region.

Gerhard Zeiler

Ole Communications’ minority stakes in its two JVs with the US giant – HBO Ole Partners and HBO Brasil Partners – have been taken by WarnerMedia, which now owns 100% of all HBO, Cinemax and HBO Go services in Spanish-speaking Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as in Brazil.

HBO services in Lat Am will now fall under the purview of Gerhard Zeiler, chief revenue officer at WarnerMedia and president of WarnerMedia International Networks.

The acquisition will allow for the launch of localised versions of forthcoming SVoD service HBO Max, due at the end of May.

WarnerMedia and Ole Communications launched HBO Ole Partners in 1991 to bring programming into the Lat Am region, establishing a Spanish-language HBO-branded premium channel in the same year. In 1994, a Portuguese-language service was introduced in Brazil.

Zeiler said: “We are pleased to complete this strategic acquisition, which will allow us to fully realise the potential of a combined WarnerMedia in Latin America, creating more value for fans, business partners and content creators. First and foremost, with this acquisition, we plan to launch localised versions of our upcoming US streaming service HBO Max to consumers throughout the region.”

Enrique Cusco, president and CEO of Ole Communications, said: “Nearly 30 years ago, Ole partnered with HBO to build one of the leading pay television platforms in Latin America. HBO was an ideal partner and I’m grateful to all the people who worked with us to create HBO Latin America. I’m also proud of the significant role Ole and everyone on the HBO Latin America management team played in what we achieved together.”

Additionally, WarnerMedia has secured four new partners in Taiwan for the distribution of HBO Go. Its regional streaming service is now available to subscribers of Kbro, TWM Broadband, Cable Giant CATV and Pingnan CATV.

This follows the recent partnership between WarnerMedia and Kbro to develop the HBO Asia original series Workers, which is set to premiere on HBO Go this month. The series is produced in association with Kbro Media, as well as HIM International Music and produced by DaMou Entertainment.