{"id":239850,"date":"2026-01-15T18:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/239850\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T18:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T18:33:09","slug":"hbo-max-bosses-tout-strongest-slate-as-hbo-max-rolls-out-in-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/239850\/","title":{"rendered":"HBO Max Bosses Tout ‘Strongest Slate’ as HBO Max Rolls Out in Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tAs HBO Max<\/a> completes its rollout in Europe, the streaming service\u2019s head honchos seem undeterred by the contentious sale of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\n\tInstead, they are focused on getting the message to customers in eight new countries, including Germany and Italy<\/a>, that the quality of their content is unbeatable.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is one of the most exciting times in the four years plus that we\u2019ve been trying to slowly roll out HBO Max,\u201d said JB Perrette<\/a>, its CEO and president of global streaming and games, speaking to Variety at the Rome HBO Max launch. He noted that they have \u201cthe strongest slate in the history of HBO and HBO Max in 2026 and building into 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tRegarding the potential impact of the sale, Casey Bloys<\/a> \u2014 chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content \u2014 said: \u201cIt\u2019s 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\u2019s the right move for any outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother reason the timing is right for this HBO Max European rollout, according to Perrette, is that \u201cwe\u2019ve seen what everybody else is offering\u201d he said. \u201cIn the four years that we\u2019ve been on this journey, we\u2019ve been able to refine our proposition, to finally realize we don\u2019t want to actually try and merely compete with what they have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat other big streamers are offering is \u201csomething for everybody and a lot of volume,\u201d he said, whereas HBO Max has a \u201cmuch more defined and tighter proposition.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHBO 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\u00a0global\u00a0streaming subscribers.\u00a0In March, they will bow in the U.K. and Ireland completing, all of Europe and its Western world rollout. In Asia, Perrette noted that \u201cthere are still some key markets that we\u2019re not rolled out in yet\u201d and that \u201cwe will evaluate going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn terms of content, it\u2019s 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\u2019s latest buzzy shows, starting with \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d prequel \u201cA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,\u201d 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 \u201cHeated Rivalry,\u201d which will release on Feb. 13 amid Italy\u2019s Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina, which will broadcast live on HBO Max from Feb. 6 to 22. HBO Max\u00a0is the primary streaming hub\u00a0in Europe for the Winter Olympics, and Perrette is expecting \u201cgreat numbers\u201d in terms of viewership.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s on top of the streamer\u2019s other popular shows such as \u201cThe Pitt,\u201d \u201cIt: Welcome to Derry,\u201d \u201cHouse of the Dragon,\u201d \u201cThe Last of Us,\u201d \u201cThe White Lotus\u201d and \u201cEuphoria,\u201d while movie offerings include \u201cSuperman,\u201d \u201cThe Batman,\u201d \u201cDune\u201d and the \u201cHarry Potter\u201d franchise.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for Italian originals, the first HBO Max Italy show \u2014 out on Feb. 20 \u2014 is revered auteur Marco Bellocchio\u2019s \u201cPortobello,\u201d which reconstructs one of the country\u2019s most clamorous\u00a0travesties\u00a0of justice and premiered to positive reviews in September at the Venice Film Festival. Other standout HBO Max Italian originals in the pipeline include \u201cIn Utero,\u201d a series set in a Barcelona fertility clinic starring Sergio Castellitto (\u201cConclave\u201d), directed by Maria Sole Tognazzi (\u201cPetra\u201d) and produced by ITV-owned Cattleya in association with Paramount Television International Studio.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn terms of HBO Max\u2019s level of investment in Italy, Perrette said it will be \u201cstrong and growing,\u201d but also strictly focused on driving local audiences.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cGenerally speaking, the goal of the local programming is to aspire to make the best version of an Italian show or a German show,\u201d Bloys pointed out.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIf it appeals elsewhere, that\u2019s great,\u201d he added. \u201cBut I always tell the programmers, I don\u2019t want them to think about, \u2018Will this show that we are committed to in Italy work anywhere else?\u2019 You can\u2019t think about shows like that. You just have to think of the best Italian show possible. And if it\u2019s a good show, it has a better chance of working elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As HBO Max completes its rollout in Europe, the streaming service\u2019s head honchos seem undeterred by the contentious…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":239851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[88471,146,6729,85,46,2971,129269,411],"class_list":{"0":"post-239850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-casey-bloys","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-hbo-max","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-israel","13":"tag-italy","14":"tag-jb-perrette","15":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}