After years of speculation, it looks like Aussies might finally be getting access to HBO Max – sort of. Plans for a new streaming service have been announced, and it’s expected to bring content from HBO Max and other Warner Bros. properties together under one roof.
Over the weekend, President and Managing Director of the Western Pacific region for Warner Bros. Discovery, James Gibbons, confirmed plans for a new streaming service to hit the Asia-Pacific region in late 2024.
Speaking to The Australian on Sunday, April 2, Gibbons confirmed that despite signing a new multi-year contract with Foxtel back in February 2023, Warner Bros. Discovery would be continuing on with its plans to expand into the Asia-Pacific region.
This follows news that HBO Max and Discovery Plus will merge into one ‘super streamer’ in the US, with further details of this merger to be revealed on Thursday April 13 at 3am AEST.
"The first order of business is to really combine those services (HBO Max and Discovery Plus) and make one ‘uber’ service that can target a wide audience," Gibbons told The Australian.
Though Discovery Plus is expected to continue as a standalone platform in the US, there is no news of a separate launch for the service in Australia, with expectations that Aussies will instead have access to the new merger between the streaming heavyweights.
So Aussies will still get access to Discovery Plus, which includes programs from networks including Discovery, Animal Planet and the Travel Channel, among others – it’ll just be alongside HBO content under the new service that is speculated to simply be called ‘Max’.
HBO Max in Australia
While Australians have had access to HBO shows through Binge and Foxtel Now, the actual platform HBO Max itself has been noticeably absent from the Aussie streaming lineup.
While there are a few ways to watch HBO content down under, giving access to popular shows such as The Last of Us, Peacemaker, House of the Dragon, Succession and The White Lotus, not all features of HBO Max have been available to Aussie households, with recent day-one releases Dune and The Matrix Resolutions not being offered.
At this time, it’s unlikely that HBO content on the Australian streaming platform Binge will disappear anytime soon, with Binge parent Foxtel Group having recently signed a multi-year contract with the American streaming service. So, for a while at least, Aussie households won’t have to jump ship from fear of missing out on the latest HBO hits.
- Can’t wait for HBO Max down under? Check out the best streaming services available right now in Australia
