HBO Max just went live in eight more countries, including in Germany, Austria and Italy, where a new deal will see the service distributed through Prime Video.
The hotly-anticipated launches of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)’s global streaming service in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Israel, and Greece happened this morning in Europe, meaning the platform is now in more than 100 territories worldwide.
Launches in the UK and Ireland will follow at the end of March, at which point HBO Max will be available through Europe.
WBD has been bundling the service with other streaming services for many of its local launches, and a deal with Amazon will see HBO Max offered as an add-on through Prime Video in Germany, Austria and Italy thanks to a “multi-year” deal. This follows on from similar distribution deals in France, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden and Belgium.
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In Germany and Austria, HBO Max will also be bundled with RTL+, offering access to both for single subscription price. German customers of streaming service Waipu.TV will also see the service integrated into the platform, while in Switzerland deals with Sunrise and Swisscom will see it provided through their entertainment offers. TIM subscribers in Italy will also have access.
In Israel, both Hot and Yes will make HBO Max available to subscribers, while in Greece the service is being as a solo product for the first time, as it has been available to Vodafone customers for nearly a year already.
HBO Max’s subs in these countries will be gearing up for the streaming launch of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Oscar favorite One Battle After Another and the upcoming Game of Thrones universe series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms on January 19. Industry, meanwhile, will be made available in Italy for the first time through the launch there, and The Pitt makes its German debut ahead of its second season launch. Furthermore, the zeitgeist-catching hockey drama Heated Rivalry will launch exclusively in each market.
Also offered is the Olympic Winter Games, which are being held in Milan Cortino between February 6-22 around the peaks of the Dolomites in Italy. A sports add-on will be available to give subscribers access to Eurosport.
From an original content standpoint, HBO local originals will begin rolling out with Marco Bellocchio’s Portobello, which stars Fabrizio Gifuni and follows the story of Italian TV presenter Enzo Tortora, who was unjustly accused of collaboration with the mafia. It launches in Italy on February 20.
German heist drama Banksters is getting a worldwide launch next month, and another Italian drama, Melania Rea – Beyond the Case, from Stand By Me, is following later in the year. 4 Blocks Zero, the much-anticipated prequel to the German gangster series 4 Blocks is also forthcoming. Local films such as Warner Bros. Pictures Germany’s Wunderschöner and Italian theatrical productions Nonostante and Squali will also launch this year.
Several other Italian originals have been announced this morning. Scripted series 500 Battiti is billed as “a medical drama set in the transplant unit of Italy’s public healthcare system, where a race against time for a heart transplant intertwines with the lives of doctors, patients, and their families.” Cattleya is producing, with Peppe Fiore, Bernardo Pellegrini and Virginia Virilli the writers.
Peccato, a mockumentary comedy begins shooting tomorrow, starring Emanuela Fanelli. Set in the near future, it follows the trajectory of Fanelli’s career and through a mix of real archive footage and fictional reconstructions tells the story of her downfall. Be Water Film is making it in association with HBO Max, in collaboration with Rai Cinema, with Valerio Vestoso the director. He is also writing alongside Fanelli and Giulio Somazzi.
In Utero, starring Sergio Castellitto, comes from writer Margaret Mazzantini and director Maria Sole Tognazzi. Set in a Barcelona fertility clinic, it explores those facing reproductive challenges and the people who support them. ITV Studios-owned Cattleya is also producing in association with Paramount Television International Studios. Enrico Audenino is serving as head writer alongside Teresa Gelli and Vanessa Picciarelli.
Gina Lollobrigida: Diva Contesa, from Indigo Stories, is a docu-series follows chronicles the battle over the legacy of a cinematic icon and an intense family melodrama, while Aurora TV’s Saman – The Hidden Truth follows “the harrowing fight for freedom of a young Pakistani woman killed by her own family for rejecting an arranged marriage.” Tzantza (working title) looks into the disturbing underground world of international organ trafficking and how it intertwines with a forbidden ancestral practice – the shrinking of human heads. Banijay’s Groenlandia is the production house.
Other platforms exclusive films include Nonstante, which is written, directed and stars Valerio Mastandre; Daniele Barbiero feature debut Squali; Leopardi & Co, a romcom set in Recanti starring Jeremy Irvine, Whoopi Goldberg, Paolo Calabresi and Denise Tantucci; Norimberga, an historical drama set during the post-war Nazi war crime trials starring Russell Crowe and Rami Malek; and Warfare, a realistic war film about the choas and brutality of modern combat.
JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming & Games at WBD, said: “It is exciting to kick off the New Year by expanding into some of the biggest economies in the world, as we continue to deliver HBO Max to new viewers. Fans in these markets have a lot to look forward to, with some incredible titles and events coming to the platform. Next up is the launch of HBO Max in the UK and Ireland in late March, which will complete HBO Max’s rollout across Europe.”
HBO Max launched first in the U.S. in 2020. As of Q3 2025, WBD reported having 128 million global streaming subscribers. The service’s future is unknown following the news global streamer Netflix had secured an $87B deal for WBD.