At Lille’s Series Mania, the US streaming giant unveiled the launch of a brand-new, ad-based plan, but didn’t disclose pricing details

Warner Bros Discovery president and CEO of Global Streaming and Games JB Perrette (© Warner Bros Discovery)

Warner Bros Discovery president and CEO of Global Streaming and Games JB Perrette has unveiled the forthcoming launch of Max in 20 European countries on 21 May. The announcement was made at Lille’s Series Mania last week.

The standalone streaming service, which will showcase content from HBO Max, Discovery and Eurosport, will begin its European roll-out in the Nordic countries, Spain, Portugal, and Central and Eastern European territories. The executive, however, did not reveal a specific launch date for France, Poland, Belgium or the Netherlands. He said it would take place at some stage before the start of the Olympic Games, running in Paris from 26 July-11 August this year.

Meanwhile, Max will offer a basic, ad-based plan at a lower price, alongside a premium plan which will allow users to stream content in full HD or 4K on up to four devices simultaneously, and carry out up to 100 downloads of content. Pricing is yet to be disclosed. The basic plan with ads will first be available in nine countries, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Romania, Poland, France and Belgium.

Thus, the plan will see Max gradually becoming available in 25 European countries and 65 more territories worldwide, following its launch in the USA last May, as well as in Latin America and the Caribbean earlier this year.

Moreover, flagship live linear networks will also be available on Max in some countries on select plans, including CNN International in France and Poland, TVN in Poland, TV Norge in Norway, Kanal 5 in Sweden and Eurosport in all countries.

“Max is the streaming home of Warner Bros Discovery and builds on our long heritage in Europe, bringing together an incredible breadth and depth of culture-defining entertainment from our services and networks, all in one place. The unrivalled content we’ve got on Max, from House of the Dragon to the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and beyond, means whatever your mood or the occasion, Max has something great for everyone, every time,” commented Perrette.