Warner Bros. Discovery has set target launch dates for its Max streaming service in Australia and several key Asian markets.
On the day Max launched in Japan through domestic partner U-Next, Warner Bros. Discovery’s president of Asia Pacific, James Gibbons, revealed that the company plans to roll out Max direct-to-consumer in Australia in the first half of 2025. Max is set to debut in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan by the end of 2024, replacing the existing HBO Go service.
Gibbons was a bit vague on specific dates for each region, but added that Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan will see the Max launch in the “coming weeks and months.” Gibbons made the announcement at the APOS media, communications and entertainment industry conference in Bali, Indonesia.
With Max now officially available in Japan through U-Next, Gibbons elaborated further on the deal. He said Max will be available within the U-Next platform and consumers will not have to pay extra. The deal is also “two-way,” meaning U-Next will get Max’s content, but Max will also use some of U-Next’s Japanese content, including anime, on its own global platform.
Regarding local production in Japan given the U-Next deal, Gibbons said WBD plans to continue investing in Japan and increase spending on anime productions given the success of its DC animated adaptations, such as the recent Suicide Squad alternate world series. Gibbons added that under the studio model, Japanese content will be produced with Max in mind as a streaming platform, but will also be available to other players.
Despite launching in the US in May 2020, Max, formerly HBO Max, has been slow to roll out directly to consumers globally due to local market licensing and partnerships for HBO content, particularly in Asia and Australia. Gibbons added that WBD is adopting a “flexible and diverse” strategy in its Max launch plans. “Our goal is to reach our fanbase and find routes to market for our fanbase,” Gibbons said, adding that where it makes sense to work with local partners, such as in Japan, they will continue to do so.
