In a WBD first, lower-cost mobile-only launches in Indonesia and the Philippines are included.
Weve been saying it and now youre just starting to see it, he added.
We said 2024 is a really big inflection point for us.
‘House of the Dragon’Ollie Upton/HBO
It is quite unique and arguably the strongest line up of movies of any streamer, said Gibbons.
The proposition at launch is focused on a core of quality international content.
We have a very firm plan to increase the amount of Asian content over time.
Max will be available in those markets in 2026, he said.
How they become available were not saying further at the moment.
Read on for more from Perrette and Gibbons in this Q&A.
DEADLINE:As a starting point, how would you describe the rollout of Max so far?
Weve seen European launches in several territories.
JB Perrette:Fantastic thats the one-word answer.
This was not just was our biggest quarter by every metric.
The big three Sky markets that will come online at that point in time.
Southeast Asia is particularly exciting because its our first direct launch in Asia.
The product is not just like the one in other markets.
Its going from a two-generations old proposition in HBO in Asia, in HBO Go.
The three differentiation is the content prop is much richer, stronger and broader.
It was being depreciated.
Youre going from a not-great product experience to a much better one.
It will be a pretty dramatic change definitely night and day.
Everything about the product experience will be dramatically enhanced.
DEADLINE:What will the programming mix look like?
James Gibbons: The proposition at launch is focused on a core of quality international content.
We have a very firm plan to increase the amount of Asian content over time.
There is a very large existing fanbase of the content in the region were not building from zero here.
DEADLINE:Asia has a heavily matured streaming ecosystem in place already.
What will encourage consumers to adopt Max?
JG: The first selling point is its all in one place for the first time.
Secondly, the UX will be a world class experience.
We have a very clear lane.
Every platform needs to have us in the mix to be a complete proposition.
DEADLINE:The service is heavy on U.S. and international content at launch.
What role will local Asian originals play?
JBP: We recognize local content in this part of the world is hugely important.
This is chapter one and it will be international-led.
DEADLINE:What other sorts of localisation will be implemented?
The reason why were doing that is the mobile behavior in those two markets is completely different to others.
We will localize and be relevant whatever way we can.
DEADLINE:Whats next for the Asian rollout?
Beyond that there are the content market licensing markets such as Korea and India.
India is the most challenged in that equation.
And profitability is very elusive, as far as we can see, for any player in the market.
We have existing relationships there and a way to go.
Its not a near-term question.
DEADLINE:How does content licensing fit into the Max ecosystem?
Thats a clear strategic priority.
Well continue to experiment with that and will continue to be a licensor.
Max is the priority but if there are other opportunities, we will be selective in a smart way.
