Max’s European Rollout Scheduled to Begin May 21, Ahead of 2024 Paris Olympics
March 21, 2024
Max is coming to Europe in exactly two months.
Warner Bros. Discovery March 21 announced that its flagship streaming service will launch in the first European countries May 21, a year after its U.S. debut, with more countries to be added before the Olympic Games in Paris start July 26.
The initial rollout will be across central and eastern Europe, as well as in Iberia and the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Launches will follow in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Poland.
By the time the Olympics start, Max will be available in 25 European countries. That will boost the platform’s presence to 65 countries and territories worldwide.
The HBO Max-Discovery mashup is banking on heavy Euro-appeal thanks to the inclusion of content from Eurosport, a French group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia owned by WBD through its international sports unit. WBD says Max will be the only service in Europe to stream Olympic Games Paris 2024, with the competitions included in all subscription plans.
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“Max … builds on our long heritage in Europe, bringing together an incredible breadth and depth of culture-defining entertainment from our services and networks, all in one place,” JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery, said in announcing the Max rollout at the Series Mania TV festival in Lille, Hauts-de-France. “The unrivaled content we’ve got on Max from ‘House of the Dragon’ to Olympic Games Paris 2024 and beyond means whatever your mood or the occasion, Max has something great for everyone, every time.”
The launch of Max in Europe comes less than one month before the return of the hot HBO Original series “House of the Dragon,” which is scheduled to bow on Max in Europe June 17.
A sports add-on will allow European subscribers to watch major international and European sports, including the four tennis Grand Slams (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open); cycling’s three Grand Tours (Giro d’Italia, La Vuelta a España, and the Tour de France) in addition to the Tour de France Femmes; the popular car race 24 Hours of Le Mans; and every major winter sports World Championship and World Cup events.
A selection of flagship live linear networks will also be available on Max in some countries in select plans, including CNN International in France and Poland, TVN in Poland, TV Norge in Norway, and Kanal 5 in Sweden — as well as Eurosport, in all countries.
A number of different plans will be available to European subscribers, including a basic plan that will include advertising and be offered at a lower price. The basic plan will initially be available in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Netherlands, Romania, Poland, France and Belgium and allow users to stream content, in full HD resolution, on two devices simultaneously.
A higher-priced standard plan will also allow up to 30 downloads of available content to watch offline. A premium plan will let viewers stream content in full HD or 4K resolution on up to four devices simultaneously with Dolby Atmos sound. The premium plan allows up to 100 downloads of content for offline viewing.
Existing HBO Max subscribers will be able to keep their current profiles and viewing history. In some cases, the HBO Max app will be automatically updated to the Max app. In other cases, when users open their HBO Max app, they will be prompted to download the new Max app.