HBO Max’s global expansion faces intense competition & tangled rights

From his home in the English port city of Sunderland, John Campbell reads everything he can about HBO Max. When theaters across the UK shut down because of the pandemic, Campbell got excited about potentially being able to see new movies on the streaming service.

But like everyone else in the UK, Campbell will have to wait for his chance to sign up, possibly for several years. HBO Max may not arrive in some of Europe’s largest markets, including the UK, Germany and Italy, until 2025, when an exclusive deal between HBO and the European pay-TV provider Sky expires.

Campbell, a 27-year-old TV cord-cutter, predicts the delay could push people to pirate HBO Max programming illegally or lose interest altogether.