The Max streaming service will finally launch in Europe later this spring, replacing HBO Max on the continent. Except in the case of the United Kingdom, the situation in the British Isles is a bit complicated.
This news comes directly from a keynote presentation by JB Perette, CEO and president of global gaming and streaming at Warner Bros. Discovery. The launch will not occur in one go, but in two waves.
On May 21, Max will officially launch in the Nordic countries, the Iberian Peninsula, as well as Central and Eastern Europe. It's important to mention that those regions already have HBO Max available, so the change will happen there sooner. Subsequently, the service will soon be available in Poland, the Netherlands, France and Belgium.
It is unknown exactly when the platform will launch in the last four countries, however, it could happen in the summer. As Variety notes, the 2024 Olympics will begin in Paris on July 26. Additionally, “Max will be the only platform that will broadcast all live coverage of the 2024 Olympic Games. [games]”. So if they want most of Europe to see the Olympics, they will have to leave before then.
Prices
At the moment, the price of the subscription plans is unknown. Prices were not revealed during Perette's presentation, although there is some information. According to Variety, Max in Europe will offer a cheap basic plan with ads and a premium plan that will allow viewers to “stream content in Full HD or 4K on up to four devices simultaneously.” They go on to state that users will receive “up to 100 content downloads.” As the service becomes available, pricing should become clearer.
At first glance, it appears that Max subscribers can download up to 100 individual movies and shows from the platform. Variety may actually be talking about users being allowed to download hundreds of movies and shows. We think it's the former, but again, the wording is not very clear.
Coming back to subscriptions, the basic plan will first launch in nine countries, including Denmark, France, Norway and Romania. The prices of everything “will vary from country to country.” More will be revealed in the coming months.
UK availability
Max's presence in the United Kingdom depends on the commercial agreement that Warner Bros. Discovery has with the British telecommunications company Sky.
As Deadline explains, Sky is the “exclusive distributor of most HBO content” in the UK due to a “lucrative licensing deal.” The contract doesn't expire until 2026, so it's entirely possible that people will have to wait another two years before they can get their hands on something like Max.
Sky has special “series length agreements” for certain content so they can continue to broadcast it even if the agreement changes. Of course, Warner Bros. and Sky can modify their contract within the next two years, but whether or not that will happen remains to be seen.
For movie recommendations, check out TechRadar's roundup of the best Max movies to stream in March 2024.
