HBO Max – the streaming service owned by media and entertainment company WarnerMedia – will launch in 15 European territories on March 8. The countries included are: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The service is currently available in 46 territories across Europe and the Americas, and this latest expansion will bring that number to 61 territories. The company has said this move comes off the back of a successful rollout in Spain and the Nordic region last October, and that it intends to launch in six more European markets later this year, including Greece and Turkey. While WarnerMedia has previously said they intend to launch HBO Max in 190 countries by 2026, it has not yet announced plans to expand to Asian markets.
HBO Max’s catalogue of content includes series and movies from Warner Bros., HBO, DC, Cartoon Network and Max Originals. The service ‘platforms’ Warner Bros. movies within 45 days of their release, and includes titles such as The Matrix Resurrections, Dune and The Suicide Squad. New Max Originals include Station Eleven, Peacemaker and Raised by Wolves, and the service also has a range of non-scripted shows, such as Expecting Amy and Finding Magic Mike.
WarnerMedia ended last year with 73.8 million combined total subscribers for HBO Max and its cable network, HBO. Johannes Larcher, Head of HBO Max International, has said that the streaming service garnered 8 million additional subscribers outside of the United States in 2021.
Larcher comments: “We are delivering on our strategy to go direct-to-consumer around the world, which coupled with our beloved content will give us the scale needed to be one of the top global streaming platforms.”
HBO Max will be available on Smart TVs (Samsung, LG and Android TV), via other connected TV devices (Apple TV 4K and Google Chromecast and major game consoles), and on mobile and tablets (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch and Android). Users will be able to create up to five personalised viewer profiles, with no limit on registered devices per subscription.
