HBO Max launching on competitive European market

HBO Max, WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform, will launch in six European countries on October 26 with more to follow next year. The first batch of countries are Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain and Andorra.

The announcement was made shortly after ViacomCBS said it is launching its Paramount+ streaming service in Europe via a multi-year cooperation with Comcast’s Sky. ViacomCBS said it by the end of 2022 will have entered 45 markets including launching in Europe through Sky.

The interest for international growth comes as many of the US-based streaming home entertainment companies see the US market as saturated at the same time as the boom for streaming home entertainment is cooling down when societies re-open and people spend less time at home.

A number of US streaming services have earlier announced aggressive attacks on the European market leading European TV companies to discuss how to counter the American giants. Two of the biggest private TV channels in France announced a merger with TF1 and M6 saying the decision was motivated by challenges from global platforms. Joining forces was needed to ensure long-term independence of French content creation, they said.

In 2022 HBO Max will become available in the following 14 additional territories as part of its phased global roll-out: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. Additional territory launches are also planned for next year, HBO said in a press release.