HBO Max will be available in two more territories on Canal+ as the French powerhouse strikes a fresh multi-year, multi-territory agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The agreement renews HBO Max in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungrary and Romania on Canal+, but will also see the streamer distributed via Canal+ in Belgium and Austria.
HBO Max has rolled out to major European markets over the past year or so and will soon go live in the UK, where it has previously been unable to launch due to WBD’s long-running deal with Sky.
Canal+ and WBD said today’s partnership marks a “major milestone in the development of their collaboration on an international scale.”
Overall, the agreement covers the distribution of HBO Max, the renewal of several WBD channels and the renewal of the exclusive pay-TV window for Warner Bros. movies, which land on Canal+ six months after their theatrical release in France.
Around 12 WBD channels have been renewed across territories in Africa on MultiChoice Group, the firm that Canal+ acquired earlier this year. CNN International and Cartoon Network will air exclusively in South Africa and non-exclusively in other territories. A number of other networks have also been renewed in African markets.
Canal+ also has distribution deals in place with Netflix and could become an important player if Netflix’s acquisition of WBD goes through, which will give Netflix control over two of the world’s biggest streamers.
