Warner Bros streaming boss flags local Max rollout in blow for Foxtel
Warner Bros Discovery’s head of streaming says the broadcasting giant expects to launch its Max platform locally in 2025, putting at risk one of the most lucrative pipelines of content for Foxtel and its Binge platform.
Warner Bros Discovery produces shows like The Last of Us, Succession, Euphoria and The White Lotus through its HBO subsidiary – that programming has ended up on Foxtel because of a long-term licensing deal last renewed earlier this year and up for negotiation in 2025.
But Jean-Briac Perrette, Warner Bros Discovery’s president of global streaming and games, gave the clearest indication yet that the company would launch the Max platform in Australia.
Sydney Sweeney as mixed up high school student, Cassie Howard in Euphoria.
“We’ll do Europe before the Olympics, which we have to get done because we have the Olympics coming in Paris next summer. And then we will get to Asia,” Mr Perrette told media executives in Bali at a summit last week.
“Asia continues to be critically important, but we have to do it in that sequence. And we will get to Asia before the end of next year with our existing markets and then roll out to new markets again, starting in 2025.”
Mr Perrette told the Media Partners Asia APOS event that Warner Bros Discovery would “probably look to launch in a market like Australia after that”. “Australia’s a critically important market for us, where again we think our content is very strong for that market.” he added.
The launch of Max would remove some of the most popular shows and films from the rest of the sector – a blow for Foxtel and Binge. Warner Bros Discovery owns HBO content, like Harry Potter and DC comic franchises, the Discovery library of documentaries and more. Some of this content is
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