HBO Max

History

Original HBO Max branding

On October 10, 2018, WarnerMedia announced that it would launch an over-the-top streaming service in late 2019, featuring content from its entertainment brands. The original plan for the service called for three tiers with a late 2019 launch. Randall L. Stephenson, chairman and CEO of WarnerMedia's parent, AT&T indicated in mid-May 2019 that it would use the HBO brand and would tie into cable operators as HBO cable subscribers would have access to the streaming service. A beta was expected in the fourth quarter of 2019 and a full launch in the first quarter of 2020 at the time.

Otter Media was transferred in May 2019 to WarnerMedia Entertainment from Warner Bros. to take over the streaming service as Brad Bentley, executive vice president and general manager of direct-to-consumer development, exited the post after six months. Andy Forssell transferred from being the chief operating officer of Otter to replace Bentley as executive vice president and general manager while still reporting to Otter CEO Tony Goncalves, who would lead development.

On July 9, 2019, WarnerMedia announced that the service would be known as "HBO Max" and that it would launch in spring 2020, while Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine and Greg Berlanti were signed to production deals for the service. (The "Max" moniker is shared with HBO's sister linear pay television service Cinemax, which has alternately identified by its suffix name since the mid-1980s and used it prominently in its branding from 2008 to 2011.) On October 29, 2019, it was announced that HBO Max would officially launch in May 2020.

On January 8, 2020, AT&T announced that Audience, a channel exclusive to subscribers of AT&T-owned television providers such as DirecTV with some original programming, would be sunset on May 22, eventually transitioning to a barker channel for HBO Max. Warner Bros. and HBO Max announced the Warner Max film label on February 5, 2020, which would produce eight to ten mid-budget movies per year for the streaming service starting in 2020. On April 20, 2020, WarnerMedia announced HBO Max's launch date as May 27. Later that year on October 23, it was announced that WarnerMedia decided to consolidate the Warner Max label into the Warner Bros. Pictures Group after its chairman, Toby Emmerich, and his development and production team led by Courtenay Valenti of Warner Bros. Pictures, Richard Brener of New Line and Walter Hamada (who oversees DC-based films), was put to manage the company's entire film output, both theatrical and streaming releases.

Warner Bros. Discovery era

In July 2022, as a part of a cost-cutting and strategic move following the merger of Discovery, Inc. with WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), it was reported that HBO Max had ceased new original series development in Central Europe, Nordic countries, the Netherlands, and Turkey, as well as removed selected international series from the platform worldwide. It was reported that France and Spain had been largely excluded from these cuts, due to French regulations requiring streaming services to produce domestic content, and Spanish-language content appealing to a wide range of markets served by HBO Max. With the cancellation of Gordita Chronicles later that month, it was reported that the service was also abandoning development of live-action children's and family programming.

On August 3, 2022, it was reported that multiple Max Original films and HBO series had been quietly removed from the service without prior notice as part of cuts to direct-to-streaming films. The company then wrote off films and series that had underperformed on the service. It was also thought that avoiding payment for residuals played a part. This followed news that had broken the previous day that then-upcoming Max Original films Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt had been both abruptly cancelled, despite being nearly complete. During an earnings call the next day, WBD CEO David Zaslav stated that the company would cut children's programming and emphasize theatrical films over direct-to-streaming releases.

Later that month, more programs were pulled from the streaming service, including animated and unscripted series such as The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, Final Space, Summer Camp Island, Infinity Train, Close Enough, most content from Cartoon Network and Adult Swim, the entirety of the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, and nearly 200 episodes of Sesame Street, which was met with heavy backlash from fans, critics, actors, and creators alike. On August 24, 2022, the HBO Max original films House Party (which was pulled from its slate just 17 days before its release) and Evil Dead Rise were both shifted to theatrical releases. WBD later reached licensing deals with the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) services The Roku Channel and Tubi (owned by Fox Corporation) in 2023; the deal covers over 2,000 hours of library programming, some of which being shows that had been pulled from HBO Max.

During its third-quarter earnings report in November 2022, WBD stated that the merged service was now targeting a "Spring 2023" launch in the U.S., ahead of the original schedule. Perrette also stated of a potential price increase for HBO Max's ad-free tier in 2023, explaining that it was "an opportunity, particularly in this environment". A price hike for the ad-free tier in the U.S. was later announced on January 12, 2023, which saw the price raised by $1 to $15.99 a month (the yearly plan would be unaffected by this move), effective immediately for new subscribers, while current subscribers would see the price hike starting on February 11, 2023.

Rebrand as Max

On March 14, 2022, after Discovery shareholders approved its merger with WarnerMedia, Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels stated that the company planned to pursue an eventual merger of HBO Max with its own streaming service Discovery+. Wiedenfels stated that this process would most likely begin with a bundle of the two services as a short-term option, with a long-term goal to eventually merge the services into one platform.

During an earnings call in August 2022, WBD head of Global Streaming and Interactive JB Perrette revealed that Discovery+ and HBO Max would merge "next Summer", with the unified service launching first in the United States, and rolled out to other markets beginning in late-2023. When announcing the merged service, Zaslav did not immediately indicate whether it would continue to carry the HBO brand. He stated that HBO was one of the "great crown jewels of the company" and would "always be the beacon and the ultimate brand that stands for the best of television quality". In early-December 2022, it was reported by CNBC via inside sources that multiple names were being considered—including simply "Max".

In February 2023, Zaslav revealed during an earnings call that WBD would officially announce the service on April 12. He also announced that WBD would continue operating Discovery+ in conjunction with the service rather than shut it down, stating that it was profitable, and that its subscribers were "very happy with the product offering". One day before the scheduled announcement, The New York Times confirmed that the service would be called "Max", and that it would retain HBO Max's existing pricing and be available in multiple price tiers for six months (on December 5 its legacy ad-free tier will be removed with former users in this tier downgrading to the ads-supported tier after this date). WBD acquired the max.com domain name earlier that year from Max International, a nutritional supplement company, for $1.8 million.

WBD officially unveiled Max on April 12: the new service would first launch in the United States on May 23, and in other regions throughout 2023 and 2024. While the new service maintains similar price points to HBO Max, support for 4K resolution video and Dolby Atmos became exclusive to the new "Ultimate" tier, and the ad-free plan was also reduced from four concurrent streams to two. In addition to all Warner Bros. Pictures releases from 2023 onward, WBD plans to have more library films and television series available on Max in 4K.

Return to HBO Max branding

In February 2025, Max soft-launched a rebranding as part of its launch in Australia, changing its corporate colors from blue to monochrome; media outlets noted that this design (which uses silver or black-colored logos) closer-resembled the branding of HBO itself. The rebrand was launched globally on March 30, 2025.

On May 14, 2025, during its upfronts, WBD announced plans to globally rename the service back to "HBO Max" later in the year. Zaslav explained that "the powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming". CEO of HBO and Max Content Casey Bloys added that the HBO brand "clearly states our implicit promise to deliver content that is recognized as unique and, to steal a line we always said at HBO, worth paying for." On June 10, 2025, it was announced that HBO Max would expand its global rollout to 12 countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where it would launch in July 2025. On July 8, 2025, it was reported that the rebranding back to "HBO Max" would begin to roll out on July 9, with Variety reporting that WBD executives wanted it to take effect before the announcement of the nominations for the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery

On December 5, 2025, Netflix announced that it would acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $72 billion. The deal would include HBO Max alongside the main HBO network, the Warner Bros. film, game and television studios, DC Entertainment/DC Studios, while excluding Discovery+, CNN, as well as the company's linear television networks, which would be spun off into the Discovery Global company. Paramount Skydance (which hold several networks previously owned by Warner such as MTV, Nickelodeon, The Movie Channel, VH1 and Comedy Central; Paramount and Warner both own their respective stakes at The CW and Philo) would later launch a hostile takeover bid for the entirety of WBD three days later for an enterprise value of $108.4 billion.

After receiving a contractual waiver from Netflix in February 2026, WBD reopened negotiations with Paramount Skydance. On February 26, 2026, WBD's board determined that Paramount Skydance's revised $110.9 billion offer constituted a superior proposal to the existing Netflix agreement. Netflix declined to match the offer and withdrew, allowing Paramount Skydance to proceed as the winning bidder. If the deal gets the regulatory approval and closes, Paramount Skydance plans to merge its streaming service Paramount+ with HBO Max into one combined service.

On April 23, 2026, WBD's shareholders approved the sale to Paramount Skydance.

The pre-trial press conference would be on February 24, 2027, as the Paramount & Warner Bros. trial was scheduled to take place from March 2 to March 19, 2027.

Pricing and features tiers

Existing HBO Max subscribers were grandfathered under their current plan features for six months; following that period, all legacy ad free customers were moved to the ad free tier (currently called standard tier). Existing ad supported were moved to the ad lite tier, now called basic with ads tier.

Management

HBO Max was formed under WarnerMedia's Entertainment division, then headed by Robert Greenblatt. Kevin Reilly, president of WarnerMedia Entertainment Networks, which includes most of the company's ad-supported entertainment channels such as TBS, TNT, and TruTV, was also given the role of as chief content officer of HBO Max with responsibility for HBO Max-exclusive original programming and library content. Andy Forssell was named the service's executive vice president and general manager while still reporting to Otter Media CEO Tony Goncalves, who leads development. Casey Bloys, programming president of HBO, retained oversight of the core HBO service but was not initially involved with Max-exclusive programming.

On August 7, 2020, WarnerMedia announced a significant restructuring under new president Jason Kilar, which he described as "leaning into this great moment of change" towards direct-to-consumer services. As a result, Greenblatt and Reilly both left the company. WarnerMedia Entertainment was dissolved, with programming operations combined with Warner Bros. in a new Studios and Networks group under that studio's CEO Ann Sarnoff. Bloys was given complete programming oversight of HBO and HBO Max, as well as Reilly's other previous responsibilities, reporting to Sarnoff. Forssell became the head of a new HBO Max operating business unit, reporting directly to Kilar. On April 23, 2021, Adult Swim and HBO Max's adult animation development teams merged under the leadership of Suzanna Makkos.

On August 15, 2022, HBO was reorganized by Warner Bros. Discovery, resulting in layoffs within HBO Max's non-scripted originals, live-action family originals, international originals, and casting units (HBO itself never had an in-house casting department). Makkos also began reporting to HBO's head of comedy Amy Gravitt.

Programming

HBO Max features first-run and library content from HBO and other Warner Bros. film and television studios and brands. The service also includes films available through HBO's existing pay television rights that are sourced from Warner Bros. Pictures only.

As with HBO's other streaming platforms, HBO Go and HBO Now (but as opposed to its add-on services on Prime Video Channels, YouTube Primetime Channels and, until its removal from that platform in 2021, Apple TV Channels), HBO Max originally did not include feeds of HBO's linear cable channels, nor does it include any content from Cinemax. Though Cinemax shares its film content with the linear HBO channel, and therefore the majority of films in the combined library would be on both services in different windows, these films would not necessarily be available on both Max and Cinemax at the same time.

On December 4, 2024, Max added a "Channels" tab offering live feeds of HBO and its linear multiplex channels (with the exception of HBO Family and HBO Latino). Initially available on a limited basis to U.S. subscribers of Max's Ad-Free and Ultimate Ad-Free tiers using adult profiles, the feature allows users to restart, rewind and fast-forward, and navigate between streams of the linear channel feeds directly from within the player.

Content providers

First and third-party content providers for HBO Max. Asterisk (*) denotes third parties while cross (†) denotes former providers.

Max Originals

Original content produced would be under the banner Max Originals, including series, films, and specials. Original episodic content is released weekly, eschewing the "binge" format made popular by Netflix. Kevin Reilly stated this was to ensure that originals would remain in the spotlight for extended periods, by letting said shows "breathe" as opposed to "fading quickly after a binge and burn". He also noted that the weekly schedule helped to drive the success of past HBO shows like Succession and Chernobyl which they co-produced with Sky UK, and became hits precisely due to their staying power.

A slate of 31 original series were planned for its first year, with plans to expand to 50 for its next year, but production timelines may have been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Max also has podcasts about the films and TV series on the service. It also produces original podcasts exclusively for the service, with Batman: The Audio Adventures being the first.

Syndication

New Warner Bros.-produced television series that have premiered on The CW since the 2019–20 season beginning with Batwoman and Nancy Drew would have their past seasons placed on HBO Max about a month after the season finale airs on television (streaming rights to existing series remains with Netflix under an existing deal). Katy Keene left HBO Max on July 9, 2025. Although the All American spin-off, All American: Homecoming, which premiered on the CW in 2022, was placed on Netflix with its parent show. On July 9, 2019, HBO Max acquired the U.S. streaming rights to Friends in a $425 million deal, and on September 17, 2019, acquired the U.S. streaming rights to The Big Bang Theory, as part of a deal that also extends TBS's off-network rights to the series through 2028.

Acquired rights

Outside of Warner Bros. Discovery, the service also offers titles from The Criterion Collection, and has a long-term partnership with BBC Studios (which HBO had previously partnered with to create His Dark Materials). Over 700 episodes of BBC content were available on the service at launch, including the first 11 seasons of the 2005 Doctor Who revival, as well as future seasons twelve through fourteen, and a variety of other shows including The Honourable Woman, Luther, Top Gear, and the original British version of The Office. Additionally, future shows by BBC Studios would be co-produced with HBO Max.

HBO also extended their existing partnership with Sesame Workshop, while moving said content to the front of the HBO Max brand. Select episodes from all fifty seasons of Sesame Street (dating back to 1969) are available to stream on the service for the first time ever. Additionally, future seasons of Sesame Street streamed exclusively on HBO Max until 2025, alongside Esme & Roy, and several new spin-offs starting with The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, Sesame Street: Mecha Builders, and The Monster at the End of This Story. On March 8, 2022, WarnerMedia and Sesame Workshop announced they would plan new shows for Cartoon Network for the new original series run and a second run acquisition rights HBO Max, including Charlotte's Web, and Bea's Block as well as the animation special Sesame Street: The Nutcracker. In addition, new episodes to start of the 53rd season of Sesame Street and spin-offs would be available to stream on HBO Max in selecting Asian territories while holding the second run acquisition rights to replace PBS, more than a new first run for Cartoon Network.

HBO Max has acquired the streaming rights to several Comedy Central series, including South Park, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens, South Side, and The Other Two; with the latter two becoming Max Original series.

In November 2021, HBO Max acquired the rights to Globo's telenovelas and series for Latin America and the Caribbean outside of Brazil.

In February 2022, Sony Pictures and WarnerMedia announced that they would extend their agreement to carry films from its subsidiary companies in its Central and Eastern Europe pay television window rights window along with the library of television series produced by its sister company Sony Pictures Television Studios, the deal would also include the rights to its releases beginning in 2022 for broadcasting on its channels and would be streaming it on HBO Max throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

Animation

The service also features many hubs for animated programming, drawing largely from the libraries of Warner Bros. Animation (including the Looney Tunes franchise and Hanna-Barbera productions, such as Scooby-Doo, Tom and Jerry and Tex Avery's cartoons as well) and Cartoon Network, along with Adult Swim. Original animated series (including the Adventure Time epilogue specials Adventure Time: Distant Lands, Jellystone!, Looney Tunes Cartoons, continuations of Infinity Train, and Summer Camp Island, and a reboot of The Boondocks produced by Sony Pictures Animation) for both network sections were also announced for HBO Max, and the service beat out competitors to acquire exclusive domestic streaming rights to South Park and its next three seasons for $500 million–with first-run episodes being added 24 hours after their premiere on Comedy Central. Fellow Otter Media company Rooster Teeth also contributed content until its closure in 2024, with season two of Gen:Lock being a timed exclusive for HBO Max.

Post-launch

All eight films in the Harry Potter series were available to stream on the service on launch day, despite earlier reports indicating that the films, although produced by Warner Bros., would not be available due to a prior broadcast rights agreement with NBCUniversal. It was later announced that the films would be removed on August 25 and made available on NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock. However, it officially brought them back on September 1, 2021, after an adjustment in the agreement. On May 29, 2020, HBO Max acquired the exclusive streaming rights to The Big Bang Theory spin-off Young Sheldon.

On June 9, 2020, Gone with the Wind was temporarily removed from HBO Max's library amid the George Floyd protests, following an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times by 12 Years a Slave screenwriter John Ridley. On June 25, the film returned in its original form with, as suggested by Ridley, a new introduction by Turner Classic Movies host Jacqueline Stewart discussing the film's treatments of the American Civil War, the Reconstruction era, and American slavery of African people.

On June 27, 2020, it was revealed that DC Universe original Harley Quinn would stream its first two seasons on HBO Max. On June 29, 2020, HBO Max secured the exclusive streaming rights of the Oprah Winfrey Network series David Makes Man. On September 18, 2020, it was announced that all DC Universe content would be migrating to HBO Max, including original shows like Titans and Young Justice, which would have their newest seasons air exclusively on the service. In addition, both Doom Patrol and Harley Quinn have been renewed for third seasons exclusively for the service.

On October 28, 2020, it was announced that the 1990s series Tiny Toon Adventures would be rebooted for Cartoon Network and HBO Max as Tiny Toons Looniversity, featuring older versions of the characters. Steven Spielberg returned as executive producer. The show was given a two-season order.

In February 2021, it was announced that WarnerMedia's international preschool brand Cartoonito would launch in the United States via Cartoon Network and HBO Max later in the year, with a slate of 50 series by 2023.

In June 2021, HBO Max ordered a pilot from John Wells and Animal Kingdom writer Matt Kester for Ke Nui Road, an action drama following a team of lifeguards in the North Shore of O'ahu, Hawaii. HBO Max would not go forward with the series, and it would instead be given a series order by Fox as Rescue: HI-Surf.

CNN Max

On August 13, 2023, CNN announced a new streaming news hub on Max known as CNN Max to launch on September 27, which features a mix of original news programs and simulcasts of primetime programs from CNN's U.S. and international linear networks. CNN International is also available through Max in European countries such as France and Poland.

CNN had previously attempted a standalone subscription service in 2022, CNN+, but was closed almost immediately after the completion of the WarnerMedia/Discovery merger due to it conflicting with the company's goal of having one streaming service to encompass all WBD properties.

On March 30, 2025, HBO Max has removed this feature on the basic with ads plan.

On October 3, 2025, HBO Max announced that CNN Max would be discontinued on November 17, 2025, with no reason given, with the development of the all access plan for CNN digital content, called CNN All Access (launched on October 28, 2025).

Sports on HBO Max

On March 1, 2022, Turner Sports announced an eight-year deal to hold rights to United States men's and women's national soccer team home matches, such as FIFA World Cup qualifying and international friendlies. This excludes FIFA and CONCACAF events, whose rights are held by Fox, and away matches. It was stated that at least half the matches per-season would be exclusive to HBO Max. The first match was streamed on January 17, 2023.

On October 5, 2023, HBO Max announced plans to launch a new sports-focused tier in the United States, to be known initially as the Bleacher Report Sports add-on. The tier would feature live sporting events and studio shows from TNT Sports, including Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), and the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, as well as exclusive USA Soccer matches and programs, and select on-demand content. On December 14, 2023, amid the closure of the GCN+ service, WBD announced that its programming rights would be consolidated into the sports add-on in February 2024, including the Giro d'Italia and various UCI tours and events.

The service was to be available as a free preview until February 29, 2024, after which it was to become an $9.99 add-on on top of an existing Max subscription. However, amid changes to TNT Sports' portfolio (including its impending loss of rights to the NBA in 2025, and other acquisitions such as college sports and international events such as the French Open), the launch of the sports add-on as a paid service was delayed indefinitely. On February 26, 2025, it was announced that the add-on had been scrapped as part of a change in strategy, and that live sports content would be available at no additional charge as part of the "Standard" and "Premium" tiers of Max (as B/R sports on Max). JB Perrette stated that WBD had been "actively involved in exploring ways to evolve the sports distribution ecosystem in the U.S.", and that offering sports content as part of the existing tiers was the best option for subscribers.

Eurosport add-on

Similar to the Bleacher Report Sports add-on in the United States, a sports-focused tier was added to Max in Europe during its launch over the summer of 2024 in conjunction with its pan-European sports brand Eurosport. This tier would offer the linear channels Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2, and coverage for various sports events including the 2024 Summer Olympics, Giro d'Italia, Vuelta a España, and Tour de France.

TNT Sports Premium add-on

On July 9, 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that TNT Sports would arrive at Max in Chile the week of July 15 with an innovative proposal where sports fans would be able to subscribe independently or by adding it to the platform's available plans. It would include live events and original content.

The most relevant Chilean soccer competitions are added, such as the Chilean Primera División, Primera B, Copa Chile and original programming, among others.

From February 2025, TNT Sports content would be available to users with a subscription to Pack Fútbol with their enabled cable operator and to TNT Sports subscribers independently.

Max DAZN Package

From October 24, 2024, in Spain, Max has added a new Max DAZN package that costs €44.99 per month, in addition to the Sports package that is optional for the Standard and Premium plans, it includes four DAZN channels in addition to Eurosport with the best sport that fans could wish for.

La Liga, the UFC, or the Formula 1 and MotoGP world championships would be available to subscribers of the Max DAZN Package, in addition to having all the movies, series and documentaries on the platform with the same advantages as the Premium Plan.

Technologies and accessibility

At launch, HBO Max did not support 4K, HDR, Dolby Vision, or Dolby Atmos, but support for these technologies were planned as "part of the HBO Max product roadmap". Support for 4K, HDR, and Atmos was added starting with the release of Wonder Woman 1984, with WarnerMedia promising to add more content in these formats throughout 2021 and beyond.

The service provided closed captioning support at launch, but initially lacked support for audio description (AD) for those with visual impairments. In October 2020, the American Council of the Blind announced it had reached a settlement with WarnerMedia whereby at least 1,500 hours of HBO Max content would be available with AD by the end of March 2021, increasing to at least 6,000 hours by March 2023, along with other accessibility enhancements to the website and apps by September 2021. HBO Max later began rolling out AD on select titles on March 26, 2021.

HBO Max also offers selected content with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation; in 2025, season 2 of The Last of Us became the first television series on a streaming service to offer a signed version of its first-run episodes. In June 2025, tying in with its setting and themes, it was announced that Sinners would become the first film to be offered on a streaming platform in Black American Sign Language (BASL).

Distribution

United States

The majority of active subscribers to the HBO pay TV service (which previously included HBO Go), and most customers that were subscribed to HBO Now at time of launch, can access HBO Max for no extra charge, with all three services generally sharing the same price point of $14.99 per month. However, this transition is contingent on the customer's current provider or biller having signed a new distribution agreement for HBO Max with WarnerMedia.

On May 27, 2020, as part of an agreement with Time Warner that renewed its carriage contract for the Turner Broadcasting System networks and gave its over-the-top television service Sling TV distribution rights to the linear HBO channel. Dish Network secured an option to become a distribution partner for HBO Max following the exclusivity period with Apple. HBO content is also available as a premium add-on for DirecTV Stream and Hulu for the same $14.99 price as HBO Max.

In announcing HBO Max, WarnerMedia immediately confirmed that HBO subscribers on AT&T-owned platforms (including AT&T TV, DirecTV, U-verse, and AT&T Mobility) would receive HBO Max on-launch at no additional charge. AT&T customers who are subscribed to their highest-tiered internet, TV and wireless plans would also receive HBO Max for free, while those on lower-tiered plans will get a free trial ranging from one month to one year. Existing HBO Now subscribers billed directly by HBO were also migrated to HBO Max on-launch at no additional charge. On April 27, 2020, an agreement was announced for HBO Now subscribers via Apple (both in-app subscriptions and Apple TV Channels) to be migrated to HBO Max. Content from HBO Max would be listed in the Apple TV app along with there being a dedicated HBO Max hub in the app. On Apple TV devices, HBO Max is available to the regular fourth generation Apple TV and fifth and sixth generation Apple TV 4K; earlier versions which do not support third-party app download are not supported.

WarnerMedia subsequently negotiated with other pay TV providers for similar arrangements. On February 20, 2020, WarnerMedia announced a distribution deal with YouTube TV that would allow members to add HBO and Cinemax, while also being able to include HBO Max as an add-on. On April 15, 2020, WarnerMedia announced a similar deal with Charter Spectrum (which acquired Warner's former cable division after it was spun off in 2009, in May 2016) to give access to HBO Max for HBO subscribers via their TV Everywhere credentials. A similar agreement was announced with Hulu on May 1 for most existing subscribers via Hulu + Live TV, as well as being available as an add-on to all other plans on the service. On May 20, 2020, it was announced that WarnerMedia had made distribution deals with Altice USA, Cox Communications, Xbox, Samsung, PlayStation, Verizon Communications and the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC). An agreement with Comcast (Xfinity) was announced a few hours after the platform's launch. Max is also available on Xfinity Flex and Cox Contour Stream Player.

International expansion

Localized versions of HBO Max launched on June 29, 2021, in Latin America and the Caribbean, on October 26, 2021, in Andorra, Spain and the Nordics (excluding Iceland), and on March 8, 2022, in Central and Eastern Europe and Portugal, in part by converting existing streaming services operated by HBO in some of those markets to the HBO Max platform. In the interim, some HBO Max original programs have been made available on WarnerMedia's existing international platforms, also including HBO Asia. The European launches of HBO Max featured a notable promotion, offering the service with a 50% discount "for life" for new subscribers as long as they maintain their subscription.

In other countries, HBO or Max original programs are licensed to third-party networks and streaming services under long-term deals. In these cases, Max has left it up to individual rightsholders to decide whether to offer its programming on an over-the-top basis. The extent and lengths of the deals vary by country; not all networks that carry HBO programs also carry Max programs, and in some cases individual programs are carried by different services.

WarnerMedia said in late 2019 that it planned to continue HBO's existing international licensing partnerships for the time being. However, as part of the WarnerMedia further restructuring announced in August 2020, WarnerMedia president Jason Kilar said HBO Max would be expanding its scope globally. Operations chief Andy Forssell indicated later that year that the company ultimately plans to have HBO Max active in 190 countries, but that a timeline for most of the remaining countries had not been decided.

Following the merger of WarnerMedia with Discovery, Inc. in April 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to halt international expansion of HBO Max in favor of waiting to replace the existing service, as well as HBO Go in Asia-Pacific region, with Max, and instead continuing to license its content to other international distributors such as Sky Europe and Foxtel in markets where HBO Max isn't available, in an attempt to reach financial stability for the company. This also included postponing the launch of Max in France and Belgium until the summer 2024, despite there already being plans to launch the service as HBO Max in 2023.

Plans for expansion of HBO Max restarted on 2025 in Australia, Turkey, the Post-Soviet states, and other Asia-Pacific countries, and are expected to continue into 2026, for regions where Sky Europe operates, although the service had already continued to expand before then, but in the form of an additional VOD hub for existing pay TV operators in countries like New Zealand, Japan and Greece.

Reception

As HBO Max

HBO Max received mixed reception from media observers on launch. The range of available content was generally well received, but many commented on the likelihood of confusion with HBO's other since-deprecated streaming platforms, HBO Go and HBO Now, and the service's higher subscription price compared to other newly launched streaming platforms like Disney+. Television critics also expressed frustration that the library of original series (not including its former late night adult content) for sister network Cinemax was not originally available on HBO Max, though much of its output had arrived on the service by the end of 2021.

AT&T announced in July 2020 that HBO Max had nominally achieved 26.6 million subscribers after its first month of operation, including 23.6 million wholesale customers, primarily legacy HBO pay TV subscribers that were covered by new agreements that added access to HBO Max at no extra charge. However, only 4.1 million customers had activated their HBO Max accounts by the same date. The latter figure was seen by many observers as a disappointment, particularly in light of Disney+ having reached 10 million subscribers within a day of launch; The New York Times's media critic Ben Smith wrote that WarnerMedia had "badly botched" the launch.

However, AT&T executives contended that it had been a "flawless launch" citing increased customer engagement compared to HBO Now and overall growth in total subscriptions to either HBO or HBO Max (36.3 million, vs. 34.6 million HBO or HBO Now subscribers at the end of 2019), while acknowledging that there was more to do to persuade existing HBO subscribers to start using the HBO Max apps. Executives had previously noted that HBO Max was starting from a different place than other streaming services as it was building on the existing HBO subscriber base, and had to work within the constraints of many of HBO's pre-existing deals (such as those with Amazon and Roku).

In October 2020, AT&T revealed that the number of activated HBO Max subscribers had reached 8.6 million by the end of September, while the number of nominal (eligible) subscribers reached 28.7 million. The total number of HBO / HBO Max subscriptions in the U.S. also increased to 28 million. With an agreement being reached the following month with Amazon (which is reported to have had 5 million HBO subscribers through Prime Video Channels), the number of HBO Max-eligible subscribers is understood to have increased to over 33 million. In September 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery was sued by a shareholder, alleging that WarnerMedia had overstated the number of HBO Max subscribers by including unactivated subscriptions bundled with AT&T services.

As Max

Upon its launch, it was noted that Max had grouped directors and writers for its films and television series under a singular "creators" credit. The Directors Guild of America and Writers Guild of America West condemned the move amidst the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes. Max announced that they would fix the credits, agreeing with the outcry from the guilds regarding proper credit for its creators, noting the altered credits were a result of "an oversight in the technical transition" from HBO Max to Max. Deadline Hollywood reported the consolidation was a result of WBD's IT departments creating the "catch all" for the credits to be in place for launch, and that executives, who could have intervened, had been unaware of the single credit until the discourse arose online after its launch. Additionally, it was reported that it would take "weeks" to fix, given the service would need to make the adjustment on each platform. The credits would later be fixed, beginning in late June.