Key Points
- HBO Max will launch in Germany early next year, according to RTL Deutschland.
- RTL’s Ad Alliance will handle advertising sales for the streaming app.
- News of the launch comes amid Paramount’s aggressive takeover offers, and as WBD prepares to spin out its cable networks from its streaming business.
For all the talk of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) possibly being an acquisition target by the likes of Paramount Global and Netflix, the company is pressing ahead with its various business plans as if nothing was out of the ordinary.
To that end, WBD is preparing to launch its blockbuster streaming service HBO Max in Germany, with the app set to debut in the country in January 2026. The announcement was made this week during a showcase event hosted by RTL Deutschland (RTL Germany) and its Ad Alliance, a Cologne-based media sales house that will handle advertising initiatives for HBO Max.
“Streaming is one of the most dynamic growth segments in the video market,” said Carsten Schwecke, the CEO of Ad Alliance and the Chief Commercial, Technology & Data Officer at RTL Deutschland. “Together, with Warner Bros Discovery, we’re combining the strength of HBO Max with Ad Alliance’s marketing expertise to provide advertisers with access to high-quality, high-impact inventory.”
Currently, HBO content is available through Wow, a streaming app offered by Comcast’s Sky Deutschland. RTL Group is in the process of acquiring Sky Deutschland and Wow from Comcast.
WBD has charted an aspirational, yet calculated, international expansion effort for HBO Max outside the United States, launching the app in markets where it already has some media presence before bringing it to territories foreign to its business.
As of July, HBO Max is now available in 90 countries around the world, most of whom have relaunched their standalone HBO apps into the service. In some parts of the world, the HBO app evolved into Max before transforming into HBO Max over the summer.
WBD counted nearly 126 million global streaming subscribers of HBO Max and its other streaming apps like Discovery Plus as of the second quarter (Q2) of the year. The company is expected to report its Q3 earnings on November 6.
In Germany, HBO Max will offer its HBO original series like “The Sopranos” coupled with Warner Bros films like “Harry Potter,” in English and dubbed German. Shows like “Friends” and “The Big Bang Theory” will also be available; some of those shows were previously available on Netflix in the country.
German subscribers may not have long to enjoy HBO Max if WBD’s assets are ultimately purchased by rival Paramount: Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported Paramount CEO David Ellison has expressed interest in winding down the HBO Max app in favor of merging all content into Paramount Plus. Between the two apps, HBO Max has more global subscribers.
It isn’t clear if Ellison will get the chance: Despite his aggressive bids, WBD executives have rejected Paramount’s offers after finding them to be too low based on the perceived value of their intellectual property and other assets.
Also unclear is the type of content HBO Max in Germany, and in other countries, will offer if WBD moves forward with a plan to spin out its film and studio business from its cable networks. Most of WBD’s intellectual property, including its HBO shows and documentaries, will be folded into the film and studio side of the company, but its cable networks business will include shows from CNN and the Discovery Channel, some of which are offered through HBO Max now.
