Latest news with #JBPerrette
Broadcast Pro
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Broadcast Pro
HBO Max expands global footprint with July launch in 12 new countries
HBO Max's global rollout builds on its earlier 2025 launches in Australia and Türkiye. Warner Bros. Discovery has revealed that HBO Max, its flagship global streaming service, will roll out direct-to-consumer access in 12 additional countries this July. The new territories set to receive the platform include Albania, Armenia, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta and Tajikistan. This latest expansion marks another milestone in HBO Max's international growth, offering subscribers in these nations access to a vast library of content from HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios, and Max Originals. Featured titles include blockbuster hits such as A Minecraft Movie, the complete Harry Potter film collection, and popular returning series like The Last of Us, The White Lotus, The Pitt, and Peacemaker. Future programming includes highly anticipated series like Task and IT: Welcome to Derry, along with beloved classics like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and reality hits such as 90 Day Fiancé from TLC and Gold Rush from Discovery. Select markets will also gain access to HBO Max's sports content, which features some of the world's premier live events. This includes tennis Grand Slam tournaments like the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open, alongside cycling's Grand Tours — the Giro d'Italia, La Vuelta a España, Tour de France, and Tour de France Femmes. Major winter sports events will also be available, although broadcast rights and availability will vary by country. JB Perrette, CEO and President of Global Streaming & Games at Warner Bros. Discovery, said: 'Our continued global expansion of HBO Max is helping fuel the great momentum we continue to see for the service. These 12 countries will be followed by a few additional markets later this year, and launches in Germany, Italy and the UK early next year. Each new market further positions HBO Max as a worldwide destination for the best in entertainment.' To cater to varying user needs, HBO Max will offer two subscription tiers. The Standard Plan allows streaming on two devices simultaneously in full HD and offers up to 30 offline downloads, subject to limitations. The Premium Plan, meanwhile, enables streaming on four devices in 4K UHD with Dolby Atmos support where available, along with up to 100 downloads for offline use. The service will be compatible with major devices, including select mobile phones, tablets, and connected TVs. Subscribers will have the option to pay using widely accepted methods such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal, and through in-app purchases via the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Samsung Checkout. This expansion follows earlier 2025 launches in Australia and Türkiye, with Warner Bros. Discovery planning additional rollouts through the remainder of 2025 and into 2026. As of the end of Q1 2025, HBO Max had amassed 122.3 million global subscribers, reflecting a growth of 5.3m over the previous quarter, underscoring the platform's strong upward trajectory.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
HBO Max Continues its Global Rollout and Sets July Launch in New Markets, Including Estonia and Iceland
A day after announcing its plan to split into two publicly traded companies, Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that HBO Max will continue its global rollout and will next launch in Albania, Armenia, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, and Tajikistan. With these additional countries, HBO Max will soon be available in 100 markets. Starting in July, HBO Max's offer in these markets will include titles from HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios and Max Originals. The lineup spans 'A Minecraft Movie,' the Harry Potter movies, 'The Last of Us,' 'The White Lotus,' 'The Pitt,' 'Peacemaker,' and future series such as 'Task' and 'IT: Welcome to Derry.' More from Variety Warner Bros. Discovery Split: What Will Happen to the Movie Studios, HBO Max, Cable Networks and Other Businesses? 'A Minecraft Movie' Success Dissected: Brand Experts Reveal 'Entertain or Die' Strategy at SXSW London The Value of Video Game IP in Post-'Minecraft' Hollywood The sports roster on HBO Max will be available in select countries, with events including tennis tournaments such as the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, The Championships, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open — as well as cycling's Grand Tours — Giro d'Italia, La Vuelta a España, Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes—and major winter sports events. As in other countries, the streamer will be available via two plans, a standard one and a premium one. 'Our continued global expansion of HBO Max is helping fuel the great momentum we continue to see for the service,' said JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming & games at Warner Bros. Discovery. 'These 12 countries will be followed by a few additional markets later this year, and launches in Germany, Italy and the U.K. early next year. Each new market further positions HBO Max as a worldwide destination for the best in entertainment,' Perette said. WBD ended the first quarter of 2025 with 122.3 million streaming subscribers, an increase of 5.3 million from the previous quarter. But as the company is grappling with declines in its overall business and a debt that nears $38 billion, it announced on Monday that it will divide into two publicly-traded entities, one devoted to streaming and content production and one devoted to traditional television. Best of Variety All the Godzilla Movies Ranked Final Oscar Predictions: International Feature – United Kingdom to Win Its First Statuette With 'The Zone of Interest' 'Game of Thrones' Filming Locations in Northern Ireland to Open as Tourist Attractions
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Watch: HBO streaming service changing back from Max to HBO Max
May 15 (UPI) -- HBO has announced that the name of its streaming service is changing back from Max to HBO Max this summer. HBO Max is what the platform was known as when it launched in 2020, but the HBO portion of the name was dropped in 2023 as its parent company sought to give it its own identity. The company announced it is going back to its original moniker at the Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation in New York on Wednesday. "No consumer today is saying they want more content, but most consumers are saying they want better content," said JB Perrette, President and CEO of Streaming. Perrette said the idea to put HBO back in the platform's name is a "testament to WBD's willingness to keep boldly iterating its strategy and approach -- leaning heavily on consumer data and insights." To celebrate the move, the company released a hilarious video of famous TV couple reunions set to Pat Benatar's classic song, "We Belong."
Phone Arena
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Phone Arena
HBO? Max? HBO Max? The name change nobody asked for is happening again
If you watch a lot of movies or shows at home, you probably subscribe to at least one streaming service – and you've almost definitely crossed paths with HBO. Or Max. Wait, no... HBO Max… again. Yep, Warner Bros. Discovery is undoing its 2023 rebrand and bringing the old name back. Max is officially becoming HBO Max once more. In a move that is both surprising and oddly satisfying, the company says it is ditching the plain Max name and embracing the HBO identity again – the same one it dropped two years ago when it tried to appeal to a broader, family-friendly audience by bundling in content from Discovery, TLC and HGTV. Now, they are admitting what a lot of people probably already felt – HBO still matters. A lot. – David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, May 2025 Turns out, even though subscribers pay $17/month, most of them tune in for the core HBO hits — think The White Lotus, The Last of Us, plus a few new movies and documentaries. And not much else, really. HBO's streaming journey has been all over the place: HBO Go (2008), HBO Now (2015), HBO Max (2020), Max (2023) and now – back again – HBO Max (2025). It's been a bit of an identity Warner Bros. Discovery made the switch to Max, the idea was to protect the HBO brand from being diluted by all the reality TV content from Discovery. Plus, at the time, they argued that HBO was too adult-focused and might alienate viewers looking for more general, family-friendly stuff – like what Netflix instead of solving a problem, the name change just caused confusion. People didn't know if HBO was still around or being phased out. Internally and externally, it just didn't land. – JB Perrette, President and CEO of Streaming, May 2025 Meanwhile, in the bigger streaming picture, over the past few years, Netflix has pulled way ahead in the streaming wars, leaving legacy media companies scrambling to keep up. Netflix is still the leader when it comes to streaming. According to Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, Netflix grabbed around 8% of all TV watch time in March – a massive lead. In comparison, Warner Bros. Discovery managed just 1.5%, which puts it slightly above Peacock but still trailing behind Disney's streamers, Prime Video, Paramount, Roku, and even Tubi.
Muscat Daily
14-05-2025
- Business
- Muscat Daily
HBO Max is back: Warner Bros. Discovery to revert streaming service name
Max brand to be retired as company leans into HBO's legacy of quality After just one year under the simplified moniker Max , Warner Bros. Discovery is reversing course and bringing back the HBO Max brand, the name the streaming platform launched with in 2020. The rebrand, set to roll out this summer, was announced on Wednesday during the company's upfront presentation to advertisers in New York. Executives cited consumer sentiment, global momentum, and the enduring power of the HBO name as key drivers of the move. 'This evolution has also been influenced by changing consumer needs,' said JB Perrette, President and CEO of Global Streaming. 'No consumer today is saying they want more content — they want better content.' The move appears to be an acknowledgment that the decision to drop 'HBO' in 2023 — in an effort to broaden the platform's appeal beyond prestige television — failed to resonate with audiences. While the rebrand was never directly labelled a misstep, Warner Bros. Discovery did refer to the reversal as a sign of its willingness to 'boldly iterate' based on viewer data and real-world response. A brand built on prestige HBO has long been synonymous with quality storytelling, with recent global hits like The White Lotus and The Last of Us reinforcing its brand cachet. The HBO Max name, according to executives, better reflects the platform's unique proposition: 'content that is recognised as unique and worth paying for,' said Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content. In a candid interview, Perrette revealed that the decision to revert came after months of analysis and discussion with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav. 'David said, 'The consumer always tells you whether you're right or wrong… Let's go back. That sounds like HBO,'' Perrette recounted. New look, familiar feel Subscribers may have already noticed early signs of the shift. The Max interface recently changed its colour scheme from blue to dark grey, echoing the original HBO Max aesthetic. The new logo will also revive the rounded letters first used in the 2020 branding. Despite the challenges of integrating Discovery+ content and new subscription tiers for sport and news, the streaming platform has turned a profit. Projections estimate HBO Max could surpass 150 million subscribers by 2026. Legacy meets strategy Since the $43 billion Warner Media-Discovery merger in 2022, the company has sought to find its footing in an increasingly competitive streaming landscape. While the streamlined 'Max' aimed for breadth, its return to HBO Max reflects a renewed focus on depth — and distinction. As Zaslav summed it up: 'Today, we are bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate our growth in the years ahead.'
