US streaming platform Max has finally set a date for its debut in Europe. The Warner Bros. Discovery owned streamer will roll out in 20 European countries on 21st May, 2024. Max’s Europe debut comes four years after it first launched in the US back in May 2020, albeit as HBO Max.
The Europe launch announcement was made by JB Perrette, head of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery at the ongoing Series Mania TV Festival in Lille, France. The first European countries to get Max will be in the Nordics, Iberia, and Central and Eastern Europe on 21st May, 2024. Launches in Poland, Netherlands, France and Belgium will follow closely after. There is no clarity on Max’s launch in UK, Italy and Germany yet. Max has a long-term content deal with Sky TV in all three countries.
The European roll-out of Max has been timed to coincide with the premiere of House Of The Dragon Season 2, which is slated to release worldwide on 16th June. Max also wants to leverage the Olympics 2024 to be held in Paris this year from 26th July, 2024.
Subscribers in Europe will be able to watch the Olympics on the Eurosport tab on Max, one of the three hubs on Max. HBO Max and Discovery are the other two out of the three hubs on Max in Europe. Max is also offering a Sports Add-On in Europe, which will stream major international and European sports such as the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, Giro d’Italia, La Vuelta a España, and the Tour de France, among others.
With the European launch of Max starting from 21st May onwards, the streamer will be available in 65 markets around the world. After its European launch, Warner Bros. Discovery plans to launch in key Asia Pacific territories in late 2024 and further territories in 2025.
Let’s see whether India finds place in Max’s expansion blitz. As of now, Max has a content deal with Jio Cinema in India, similar to what it has with Sky in UK, Italy and Germany.
Max will offer all three tiers in Europe upon launch, including basic, standard and premier. The basic ad-supported plan will initially be available only in nine countries – Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Romania, Poland, France and Belgium. Subscription rates will be revealed at a later date.