Skip to main content

HBO Max headed to 15 more European nations in March

HBO Max today announced that its second wave of European expansion is coming on March 8, 2022. Some 15 countries will be added, following the initial European launch in October 2021.

On deck are: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

Recommended Videos

The additions mean that HBO Max will be available in 46 countries and territories across the Americas and Europe. And more are on the way, with another half-dozen European countries coming later in 2022, including Greece and Turkey. (Still no mention of the United Kingdom, which might or might not make it in that third round.)

HBO Max app icon on Apple TV.
Phil Nickinson/Digital Trends

“HBO Max is a new streaming experience offering the very best entertainment, movies, original series and kids programming from Warner Bros., HBO, DC, Cartoon Network, Max Originals and more,” Christina Sulebakk, General Manager, HBO Max EMEA, said in a press release.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

”More

The best movies on HBO Max[/internal-link]
  • The best shows on HBO Max
  • What’s new on HBO Max this month
  • HBO and HBO Max ended 2021 with nearly 74 million subscribers worldwide, up 22% year over year. HBO Max itself has nearly 14 million subscribers in the United States. The service costs $15 a month if you want the full smash, including the ability to watch offline and in 4K resolution — and without advertising. A less expensive option is available for $10 a month that includes ads and lacks the higher UHD resolution.

    “The global rollout of HBO Max continues at pace as we launch the platform in 15 additional European countries,” said Johannes Larcher, Head of HBO Max International, “taking us to 61 territories worldwide. We are delivering on our strategy to go direct-to-consumer around the world which coupled with our beloved content will give us the scale needed to be one of the top global streaming platforms.”

    HBO Max is available on every major streaming platform, including Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Google TV, various smart TVs and gaming consoles.

    Phil Nickinson
    Former Digital Trends Contributor
    Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…
    Max will be available to stream in Europe starting May 21
    HBO Max app icon.

    Today, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that Max (nee HBO Max) will be available in its first European countries starting May 21 — just in time for the Paris Olympics and Season 2 of House of the Dragon.

    Max will go live first in the Nordics, Iberia, and Central and Eastern Europe. Then it will be Poland, the Netherlands, France, and Belgium, the latter two marking the first new countries for Warner Bros. Discovery in more than two years. The additions bring the number of European nations with Max to 25, for a total of 65 worldwide.

    Read more
    Max will serve up live sports in Dolby Vision
    A screen from the Bleacher Report add-on on Max.

    Max — the streaming service from Warner Bros. Discovery — maybe isn't the first one you think of when it comes to live sports. But that might need to start to change, given its Bleacher Report add-on and the fact that it makes up one-third of an upcoming live sports mega-streamer.

    And here's another reason, at least if you're the sort who cares about picture quality features: Max will offer live sports in the Dolby Vision standard. If you're not yet familiar (and it is OK if you aren't), Dolby Vision is one of the HDR standards by which supported televisions can show brighter brights, darker darks, and more colorful colors. There are a few flavors of high dynamic range and Dolby Vision — which is a proprietary standard that has to be licensed — is generally believed to be the leader at this point.

    Read more
    Max is now available to watch on YouTube Primetime Channels
    Max on YouTube Primetime Channels as seen on an iPhone.

    Max — the streaming service that houses all the shows and movies from the combined Warner Bros. Discovery universe — is now available to watch in full on YouTube. Or, rather, on YouTube Primetime Channels.

    That's the somewhat clunky name for the scheme by which you can watch subscription services from within YouTube itself. It's exactly the same idea as what's going on with NFL Sunday Ticket. You subscribe and watch on YouTube and pay via your Google account. It's also pretty much the exact same thing as Max on Amazon Prime Channels. But unlike the Amazon options, only one flavor of Max is available on YouTube PrimeTime Channels. You'll get the full version, sans advertising, for $16 a month. (It rounds up to a little more than $18 a month after taxes.)

    Read more