The Big HBO Max International Expansion Just Got A Launch Date
HBO Max is finally spreading outside of the US, with the streaming service set to launch internationally in its first new markets. Come June 2021, WarnerMedia announced today, HBO Max will be available in 39 territories across Latin America and the Caribbean, with content both familiar and new.
HBO Max – owned by AT&T, through its WarnerMedia Direct arm – launched in the US in May 2020. There, it offered a mixture of HBO premium content along with Warner movies; users can sign up independently to their existing cable provider, or get access via an existing HBO pay television subscription.
In late June 2021, though, we'll see HBO Max make its long-promised expansion outside of the US. It'll include TV and movies from HBO, DC, and Warner Bros. plus local original productions, WarnerMedia says, and children's content.
The current launch expansion list stands at Anguilla, Antigua, Argentina, Aruba, B.V.I., Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks and Caicos, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Content will be pulled from Cartoon Network and Looney Tunes Cartoons for younger viewers, along with HBO, Warner Bros, New Line, DC, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, and Adult Swim for older users. WarnerMedia will also be commissioning local, original titles under its Max Originals banner. They promise to "showcase local storytellers and talent bringing their authentic, meaningful, and native voices to our fans" the company says.
As in the US, just how you'll be able to subscribe to HBO Max will vary depending on what other services you currently pay for. Existing HBO GO direct-billed customers – along with anybody billed through an eligible partner – will automatically get HBO Max access. WarnerMedia plans to phase out HBO GO in Latin America and the Caribbean, replacing it with a new app built on the same platform as the US HBO Max app.
Alternatively, there'll be subscription options for those who aren't existing customers. WarnerMedia says it'll have more details there – including local pricing – closer to launch, along with more precise lists of what content can be expected. As you'd think, there'll be phone, tablet, and set-top box apps available.
Beyond that, HBO's existing streaming subscription services in Europe – the Nordics, Spain, Central Europe, and Portugal – are also in line for an upgrade. They, too, will be switched over to HBO Max, something WarnerMedia says it expects to happen later in 2021.