Image at top: “Adventure Time: Distant Lands.”
Thirty-nine territories across Latin America and the Caribbean will get HBO Max in June. Subscribers to existing streaming service HBO Go will have instant access to the new platform; HBO Go will be phased out, like in the U.S.
Later in the year, HBO-branded streaming services will become HBO Max in the Nordics, Spain, Central Europe, and Portugal. In December, HBO Max global chief Andy Forssell said the aim was to get the the platform into 190 countries, adding, “It’s just a matter of how fast we can do that.”
After a bumpy launch in the U.S., which was marred by confusion over the various HBO-branded services, HBO Max is establishing itself as a major competitor in the streaming wars, despite costing a relatively hefty /month. Last month, parent company AT&T disclosed that it has nearly 40 million subscribers, although that metric includes those who can access the service through a promotion or HBO cable subscription; the number of “activated” subscriptions is around 17.2 million. At the last counts, Disney+ had 94.9 million subscribers globally, Netflix 203.7 million.
Just over a year after launching in the U.S., HBO Max will start its international rollout. Warnermedia’s streaming platform will debut in Latin America in late June before coming to parts of Europe later in the year.