Launching on March 8 in the Netherlands, HBO Max is entering the market with the lowest subscription fee of any streaming service for people who sign up for the streamer in March.
In its first weeks of operation, HBO Max Basic is available for €2.99 a month, and the Standard subscription is sold at €3.99, a 50% reduction of the regular subscription price of €5.99 and €7.99 respectively. “This is a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity,” said Christina Sullebakk, General Manager HBO Max EMEA, during a presentation in Amsterdam, “and people who sign up now will always enjoy a 50% discount on the subscription price as long as they remain a subscriber.”
The basic subscription offers 720p HD quality and one single stream, the standard subscription includes full HD (1080p) and 4K quality as well as three concurrent streams. Annual subscriptions are also available, offering twelve months of viewing while paying for eight months.
HBO Max will also be offering all theatrical Warner Bros releases after just 45 days with no additional charges. Disney+ is also offering theatrical titles, but viewers have to pay additionally on top of their €8.99 monthly fee.
At launch, HBO Max will only be available as a D2C service, as no distribution partners have been announced. But talks with various parties are under way, said Sullebakk. HBO Max is available on various devices and platforms, including smart TVs (Samsung, LG and Android TV), via streaming devices (Apple TV 4K and Google Chromecast), game consoles (PlayStation5, PlayStation4, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S), mobile and tablets (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android), and online.
The launch in the Netherlands is part of the second wave of European launches in 15 countries, which are: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia. The streamer is increasing its footprint to 61 countries with these launches. It is going global as part of a phased roll out and later this year will expand to a further six European countries including Greece and Turkey. The aim is to reach 161 countries by 2026, but is dependent on the running out of current distribution contracts, such as with Sky in the UK.
It remains to be seen what will happen to HBO Max after Discovery Communications will take control of Warner Media and if a merger with Discovery’s own D2C platform Discovery+ will happen.