Deadline: WBD International Chief Hints At Changes To Output Deal With Sky As Max Expands

[ContractHolder]

WBD International Chief Hints At Changes To Output Deal With Sky As Max Expands

Warner Bros. Discovery international head Gerhard Zeiler sees change coming to an HBO output deal with Sky as Max expands in Europe.

deadline.com

Gerhard Zeiler, president of Warner Bros. Discovery international, said an HBO output deal with Sky overseas will likely not look the same if it's renewed. Sky has licensed content through the end of 2025 but it comes as no surprise that WBD will look to tweak that as Max expands globally. The streaming service wants a beachhead in the U.K., Germany, Italy (and other markets) and needs HBO and Warner Bros. programming.

"We see it every single day — that this content is working. Every single day we see the ratings for the Warner Bros. and the HBO content which we sell to Sky."

"Sky was always a great partner for us, and it's still a great partner today. That's number one. But we want, we need to, and we will launch Max in these three markets. These are three of the most important markets outside of the U.S. There is no reason we should not do that. Why should we disadvantage ourselves by not launching Max?" he asked during a Q&A at the MoffettNathanson media conference in New York.

Max is turbocharging its international expansion this month and next, becoming available across the Nordics, Iberia, and Central and Eastern Europe. The launches will follow closely after in Poland, the Netherlands, France, and Belgium, expanding the streamer to 25 countries in Europe and 65 countries and territories worldwide. It launched in Latin America and the Caribbean earlier this year. Max itself was rebranded (from HBO Max) and relaunched in May of 2023.

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[Jubilant Duck]

I've wanted Max in the UK for years but by the time it gets here I worry it won't even have much on it.

Anything that hurts Sky is a good thing, tho.

 

[Wonky Mump]

I imagine Sky will want to have some form of agreement like they do with Paramount+ where they can have rights to most content on Max included as part of their service like a shared access deal. At the moment, Sky Cinema subscribers get Paramount+ access included for no additional charge - they made a big deal out of that being a thing when they fast tracked Top Gun Maverick's premiere to match the date it went on Paramount+ in the UK.

 

[Soap]

I'm thinking that they go the Paramount+ route where they get a standalone app but you'll also be able to get Max bundled in with Sky Cinema, that way WBD get a lot of the content they have already signed away and Sky gets HBO content moving forward.