HBO Max to Launch in 12 Countries in July as WBD Streamer Closes in on 100 Markets (Exclusive)
The Hollywood Reporter has learned that the new markets are the Baltic countries, namely Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as well as Albania, Armenia, Cyprus, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malta, and Tajikistan.
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The news, coming a day after WBD unveiled that it would split next year into a studios and streaming company and a global networks business, follows the April 15 launch of the WBD streamer in Turkey where BluTV, which the conglomerate acquired at the end of 2023, evolved into a service with a broader content slate. Earlier in the year, the streamer had become available in Australia.
Additional launches are planned in 2025 and into 2026, WBD said, adding that 'momentum continues to build for HBO Max.'
The conglomerate ended the first quarter of 2025 with 122.3 million streaming subscribers, an increase of 5.3 million from the previous quarter.
'Our continued global expansion of HBO Max is helping fuel the great momentum we continue to see for the service,' says JB Perrette, CEO and president of Global Streaming & Games at Warner Bros. Discovery. 'These 12 countries will be followed by a few additional markets later this year, and launches in Germany, Italy and the U.K. early next year. Each new market further positions HBO Max as a worldwide destination for the best in entertainment.'
HBO Max will launch in the new countries with a lineup of content from HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, as well as Max originals, among others. Among the film library are the likes of A Minecraft Movie and the Harry Potter movies and such series as The Last of Us, The White Lotus, The Pitt, Peacemaker, 90 Day Fiancé and Gold Rush, and such classics as Friends and The Big Bang Theory, along with upcoming series, such as Task and IT: Welcome to Derry.
In select countries where the streamer launches next month, sports will also be available on HBO Max, including tennis Grand Slam tournaments, cycling's Grand Tours, and major winter sports events. The rights vary between the countries.
HBO Max is bringing its two subscription plans to the new markets, namely its Standard Plan, which allows subscribers to stream on two devices at once with full HD resolution and up to 30 downloads for offline viewing, and its Premium Plan, which allows subscribers to stream on four devices at once with 4K UHD and Dolby Atmos, as available, and up to 100 downloads for offline viewing.
News of the July markets comes as Europe has emerged as a key growth engine for the streamer over the past 12 months after its first full year of enhancements. Europe has been the fastest-growing international region for Max, soon to be rebranded HBO Max, subscriptions, and is the streamer's biggest market outside the U.S., according to sources.
THR understands that more than 2.5 billion hours have been streamed on the WBD service in Europe since launch, with the time spent on the streamer on a weekly and monthly basis having risen. Hours streaming sports in the in the broader Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region on Max and Discovery+ are understood to have risen 14 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2025, and the Australian Open was the most viewed sporting event on the streamer in EMEA since the Paris Olympics.
Among the top series on Max in Europe have been House of the Dragon, The Penguin, The Last of Us, Dune: Prophecy, and The White Lotus. Actually, most new European subscribers checked right into the White Lotus, making it what one source says the streamer's 'most acquisitive title' in the region.
The streamer's top films in the region have included Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone, Dune: Part Two, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Beyond WBD's global Hollywood hits, the streamer has also succeeded with local original productions (LOPs). THR understands that 70 percent of all its EMEA subscribers have watched at least one LOP, with locals accounting for more than 15 percent of total first views on the streamer in the region. Poland leads the way, with four of the top 5 most-streamed LOPs coming from the country. Ranked from the top, they are understood to be The Eastern Gate, The Thaw, Spain's When No One Sees Us, X-rated Queen, and A Decent Man.
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