Warner Bros. Discovery has confirmed its Max streaming service will make its way to Europe beginning May 21, 2024. The first expansion round will see Max go live in the Nordics, Iberia, and central and eastern Europe. The service will then make its way to Poland, Netherlands, France and Belgium soon after.
Once Max is available in these additional countries, subscribers will have access to HBO and Max original programming, content from the Discovery family of channels, and live sports from Eurosport.
Depending on the country, subscribers may also have access to select linear channels as well. For example, CNN International in France and Poland, TVN in Poland, TV Norge in Norway, Kanal 5 in Sweden and Eurosport in all countries.
While Max has yet to confirm pricing in these countries, subscribers will be able to choose between a Basic with Ads, Standard and Premium plan. Although the Standard and Premium plans are due to launch in all countries, the Basic with Ads plan will initially only in the following nine European countries: Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Romania, Poland, France and Belgium.
The main difference between the Basic with Ads and Standard plan is the use of ads and the ability to download videos for offline playback. In contrast, the Premium plan upgrades the number of streams from two to four, the number of downloads to 100, and unlocks 4K and Dolby Atmos support.
Regardless of the plan, a Sports Add-On will also be available offering access to additional sports content. Events included with the Sports Add-On will vary by country, but subscribers can expect access to Grand Slam tennis, cycling’s Grand Tours, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 live linear networks.
Existing HBO Max subscribers will see their subscription automatically update to a Max subscription, allowing them to maintain their current profiles and viewing history. While the existing HBO Max app is expected to automatically be replaced with the newer Max app, some subscribers may need to manually download the newer app, depending on the device and operating system.
One year after Max’s U.S. launch
The timing of the expansion is quite interesting, as it will mark one year since Max launched in the United States. In fact, with Max having launched in the U.S. on May 23, 2023, it is almost one year to the day. Once the announced European launches are complete, Max will be available in 25 countries in Europe and 65 countries and territories worldwide.
In addition to timing the launch to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the U.S. launch, Warner Bros. Discovery is also making sure that Max is available in more countries prior to the European release of season 2 of House Of The Dragon on June 17. In addition, and although Peacock is the U.S. streaming home of the Paris Olympic Games, Max will be the streaming home of the Paris Games in the 25 European launch countries.
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