As HBO Max completes its rollout in Europe, the streaming service’s head honchos seem undeterred by the contentious sale of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery in the U.S.

Instead, they are focused on getting the message to customers in eight new countries, including Germany and Italy, that the quality of their content is unbeatable.

“This is one of the most exciting times in the four years plus that we’ve been trying to slowly roll out HBO Max,” said JB Perrette, its CEO and president of global streaming and games, speaking to Variety at the Rome HBO Max launch. He noted that they have “the strongest slate in the history of HBO and HBO Max in 2026 and building into 2027.”

Regarding the potential impact of the sale, Casey Bloys — chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content — said: “It’s just one of those things where the reality is the only thing you can control is the job. And the best thing you can do, whoever ends up winning in this auction, is continue to have great shows. So that’s the right move for any outcome.”

Another reason the timing is right for this HBO Max European rollout, according to Perrette, is that “we’ve seen what everybody else is offering” he said. “In the four years that we’ve been on this journey, we’ve been able to refine our proposition, to finally realize we don’t want to actually try and merely compete with what they have.”

What other big streamers are offering is “something for everybody and a lot of volume,” he said, whereas HBO Max has a “much more defined and tighter proposition.”

HBO Max, which first launched in the U.S. in 2020, has since expanded across Latin America, Europe and Asia. For Q3 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery reported 128 million global streaming subscribers. In March, they will bow in the U.K. and Ireland completing, all of Europe and its Western world rollout. In Asia, Perrette noted that “there are still some key markets that we’re not rolled out in yet” and that “we will evaluate going forward.”

In terms of content, it’s hard to argue that HBO Max is merely boasting. The current HBO Max rollout in Germany, Italy, Austria, Greece and Israel will bring subscribers a rapid fire onslaught of the streamer’s latest buzzy shows, starting with “Game of Thrones” prequel “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” which launches in Europe on Jan. 19, almost day-and-date with the U.S. That will be followed by steamy ice hockey romance show “Heated Rivalry,” which will release on Feb. 13 amid Italy’s Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina, which will broadcast live on HBO Max from Feb. 6 to 22. HBO Max is the primary streaming hub in Europe for the Winter Olympics, and Perrette is expecting “great numbers” in terms of viewership.

That’s on top of the streamer’s other popular shows such as “The Pitt,” “It: Welcome to Derry,” “House of the Dragon,” “The Last of Us,” “The White Lotus” and “Euphoria,” while movie offerings include “Superman,” “The Batman,” “Dune” and the “Harry Potter” franchise.

As for Italian originals, the first HBO Max Italy show — out on Feb. 20 — is revered auteur Marco Bellocchio’s “Portobello,” which reconstructs one of the country’s most clamorous travesties of justice and premiered to positive reviews in September at the Venice Film Festival. Other standout HBO Max Italian originals in the pipeline include “In Utero,” a series set in a Barcelona fertility clinic starring Sergio Castellitto (“Conclave”), directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi (“Petra”) and produced by ITV-owned Cattleya in association with Paramount Television International Studio.

In terms of HBO Max’s level of investment in Italy, Perrette said it will be “strong and growing,” but also strictly focused on driving local audiences.

“Generally speaking, the goal of the local programming is to aspire to make the best version of an Italian show or a German show,” Bloys pointed out.

“If it appeals elsewhere, that’s great,” he added. “But I always tell the programmers, I don’t want them to think about, ‘Will this show that we are committed to in Italy work anywhere else?’ You can’t think about shows like that. You just have to think of the best Italian show possible. And if it’s a good show, it has a better chance of working elsewhere.”