Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Audio / Video
  3. News

HBO Max expands its service to 15 more countries

Ryan McNeal
By

If you’ve been waiting for HBO Max to come to your region, this may be your lucky week. On Tuesday, WarnerMedia announced it extended its premium streaming platform to 15 additional European countries. This latest move continues WarnerMedia’s global HBO Max initiative and marks the second wave of their European rollout.

The 15 countries where HBO Max is now available include: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

HBO Max Logo on a TV.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Launched in May 2020, the service was first made available to the United States. In June 2021, it expanded to 39 territories in Latin America and the Caribbean. By October 2021, HBO Max arrived in Europe, appearing in the Nordics, Spain, and Andorra. With these 15 new countries added to the list, HBO Max is now available in 61 territories.

Related

“In under 24 months, we have built a scalable streaming business present in 61 territories and counting. International is going to continue to be an important part of our global growth story going forward,” Johannes Larcher, Head of HBO Max International, said in a press release. “I am particularly proud that our presence in Central and Eastern Europe is further strengthened by today’s launch of HBO Max, and that we are doubling down on our strong commitment to fans, partners, and employees across the region during this challenging time.”

Recommended Videos

The debut of HBO Max in Central and Eastern Europe and Portugal comes with a promotion that will save viewers over 30% on their monthly membership fee for the duration of their subscription. In the Netherlands, HBO Max will launch with a standard tier and basic tier, both 50% off. The standard tier offers HD 1080p, 4K, three concurrent streams, and 30 downloads for 4 euros. While the basic tier offers HD 720p, one concurrent stream, and five downloads for 3 euros.

Unfortunately, customers in the U.K., Germany, and Italy will have to wait to get HBO Max. Currently, WarnerMedia has a lucrative exclusive content distribution agreement with British broadcaster, Sky, that’s due to expire in 2025. As long as this deal lasts, WarnerMedia has no plans to offer its streaming service in countries where Sky operates. However, WarnerMedia does plan on bringing HBO Max to Turkey, Greece, Iceland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania later this year.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Ryan McNeal
Ryan McNeal
Max not working? Why the HBO Max successor’s launch has been wonky
HBO Max app icon.

Today's a big day for the new Max streaming service. After months of fanfare from execs, the combined HBO Max/Discovery streaming service has launched. But despite all the talk of a better tech platform (which might well be true!) and all the new content (which definitely is true), Max is not working for some. Or the idea of having to download a new app is awkward and annoying at best.

Here's what you need to know about the whole transition.
Why isn't Max working?
There are a few things that could be a play here, but there's one obvious one: Unlike HBO Max, the new Max service is only available in the U.S., including American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Read more
The era of Max is upon us as HBO and Discovery combine
A reminder that HBO Max is becoming Max on May 23, 2023.

Starting Tuesday, May 23, logging in to your HBO Max app will be a bit different. That's the day that HBO Max combines with Discovery under a new tech stack — which promises to be better than the last — and a new brand. And, with luck, it'll be a seamless transition.

The gist is this: HBO Max is going away as a brand. But the content — most of it, anyway — will live on with the HBO name. That goes for the best shows on HBO Max, like Succession. (Seriously, someone thought it'd be a good idea to do this conversion just days before the finale?) The same is true for the best movies on HBO Max. And it'll live alongside a ton of content from the Discovery family of networks, all under the Max branding. And, for what it's worth, the Discovery+ app isn't going anywhere.

Read more
As promised, Paramount+ gets more expensive June 27
Paramount Plus logo on an Apple TV.

The streaming landscape continues to shift, with Paramount+ getting a higher price as it absorbs Showtime content starting June 27, 2023.

The price increase wasn't unexpected — Chief Financial Officer Naveen Chopra said as much on the company's third-quarter 2022 earnings call. “We definitely see opportunities to increase price on Paramount+,” Chopra said at the time in response to Deutsche Bank’s Brian Kraft. “And you will see us do that in the future. I think it’s fair to say that pricing is moving higher across the industry — you see that with a number of competing services, and we think that that means we have room to increase price.”

Read more