The world of French video streaming will welcome a new kid in 2024: Max! Resulting from the merger between HBO and Warner Discovery, this service should automatically establish itself as a major competitor for Netflix, with a quality catalog.
Clearly, the video on demand (SVOD) services sector is welcoming more and more players. Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, OCS, Apple TV+, Paramount+, and soon Universal+, not to mention the French platform Canal+… Gone are the days when Netflix reigned supreme over subscription streaming! And it’s not over, because HBO is preparing to launch in France next year, through its Max streaming platform. Offered in the United States since 2020 under the name HBO Max, it changed its name and form following the merger of its two streaming services, HBO Max and Discovery +, to form one, whose name is simply Max. Gerhard Zeiler, chairman of Warner Bros. Discovery International, and Leah Hooper, director of the Europe streaming department, announced the launch of Max in France and Belgium for summer 2024 during the 39th edition of the International Audiovisual Content and Coproduction Market in Cannes, as reported Variety. A launch which, as luck would have it, will take place right on time for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, which the service will broadcast via Eurosport. Enough to attract a plethora of users for sure!
Max: a quality catalog for a still unknown price
The new platform, even if it must fit into an already busy sector, has some major advantages. She can count on the entire quality HBO catalog (Game of Thrones, The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, Sopranos, His Dark Materials, Succession, Winning Time, The Wire, Chernobyl, Handmaid’s Tale, Euphoria…), the firm having even offered itself the future remake ofHarry Potter, in the form of a series. It can also count on the numerous Warner Bros. channels. Discovery (including Warner TV, Eurosport, Discovery Channel, Cartoon Network and CNN), as well as great classics like Gravity, Interstellar, Superman, Mad Max 2or even the animated series Harley Quinn, Rick & Morty And Scooby-Doo. To mark the occasion, Warner Bros. Discovery also announces the broadcast of an original production intended for the French market, called The mythomaniac of the Bataclan. With Laure Calamy in the lead role, it will tell the true story of a woman who posed as a victim of the Paris attacks in November 2015. The platform will also broadcast sporting events, such as major cycling competitions as well as as the Tennis Grand Slams – in addition to the Paris Olympic Games.
The question of broadcasting rights arises, because most of the programs are currently distributed by Amazon within the Warner Pass, for an additional 9.99 euros per month in addition to the Prime subscription (see our article). A temporary way for the e-commerce giant to attract new customers, in particular by becoming the official French broadcaster of the series The Last of Us at the time of its release last January. According to Variety, the Warner Pass will be offered until the end of 2024. Then, subscribers will be invited to subscribe to one of the Max offers to continue watching the content. At the moment, we do not have a price list. In the United States, the service is billed between $9.99 and $19.99 per month, depending on subscriptions, including a high-end offer with 4K.