![\"Half](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1469603_halfman1_729302.jpg\")
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HBO and\u00a0HBO Max\u00a0will\u00a0continue\u00a0working with\u00a0UK\u00a0broadcasters despite\u00a0the\u00a0streamer\u2019s\u00a0imminent launch in the country, but Warner Bros Discovery top brass have admitted deals could be \u201ca bit more complicated\u201d to strike.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Casey\u00a0Bloys,\u00a0chairman\u00a0and\u00a0chief exec of\u00a0HBO and Max\u00a0content,\u00a0told\u00a0Broadcast International\u00a0that the launch of the streamer in the UK\u00a0could affect\u00a0rights\u00a0discussions but said he wanted to remain flexible.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Casey](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1469604_caseybloys_606533.jpg\")
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\u201cStreaming rights may\u00a0become\u00a0a bit more complicated, but\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0always been\u00a0fairly flexible\u00a0and creative in how we make deals with UK talent and UK\u00a0coproduction partners.\u00a0I\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0say no to anything.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bloys\u00a0pointed to\u00a0BBC drama Half Man, from Banijay\u2019s Mam Tor Productions, and Sky\u2019s upcoming drama War, from All3Media\u2019s New Pictures,\u00a0as examples of upcoming\u00a0copros\u00a0on\u00a0HBO\u2019s slate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
JB Perrette, chief exec and president of\u00a0global\u00a0streaming and\u00a0games for\u00a0WBD,\u00a0suggested the presence of HBO Max in the\u00a0UK\u00a0would prompt a broader discussion over rights but said he would be \u201copen to experimenting\u201d on models.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA\u00a0lot of what\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0done very successfully, and\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a fair amount of\u00a0it\u00a0as Casey\u00a0has highlighted,\u00a0is\u00a0coproductions with UK members where\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0retaining\u00a0UK rights and\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0getting non-UK rights, global or multi-territory.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no reason that\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0continue.\u00a0But\u00a0the question,\u00a0given\u00a0that\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0have a service in the market,\u00a0is\u00a0do we also want access to the rights in the UK?\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is,\u00a0we\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0have\u00a0a one-size fits all\u00a0approach. We will continue to do\u00a0shows [like Half Man and War] if\u00a0Casey decides\u00a0he\u00a0wants\u00a0access to\u00a0them, but\u00a0if we\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0find a model that works,\u00a0then\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0fine.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u00a0may\u00a0also\u00a0be more open to experimenting or doing other things in the\u00a0market once the service is available.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0going\u00a0to be open to\u00a0all sorts of\u00a0different ideas.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Netflix and UK originals\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bloys\u00a0and Perrette, who were speaking to\u00a0Broadcast International at the launch of HBO Max in Germany last week, added that\u00a0it was business as usual despite\u00a0the ongoing merger talks between parent WBD and Netflix.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try and keep our blinders on as much as possible,\u201d Perette said. \u201cWe\u2019re\u00a0not in\u00a0[those talks]\u00a0on a day-to-day\u00a0basis and we can\u2019t influence\u00a0them,\u00a0so while it occupies\u00a0about 10% of every conversation, we don\u2019t really have any insights to add to it, nor\u00a0any\u00a0say in the process.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bloys\u00a0added: \u201cObviously,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0all aware of it, but the reality is nobody knows how things are going to play out.\u00a0The only thing you can do is continue to focus the teams on doing their job, which is to make great shows.\u00a0In any outcome,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0what you want.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"House](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1469605_houseofthedragons3_1_263994.jpg\")
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And while HBO Max has unveiled a flurry of local originals in Germany and Italy over recent weeks to tie in with the streamer\u2019s launch in the countries,\u00a0a different\u00a0strategy has been applied\u00a0in the\u00a0UK\u00a0because of\u00a0the nuance of the market \u2013 namely a\u00a0high\u00a0audience\u00a0affinity for\u00a0US shows and domestically produced series travelling\u00a0back to the States.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re fortunate in that the majority of the\u00a0[HBO]\u00a0stuff that we produce\u2026\u00a0tends\u00a0to work in the UK,\u201d\u00a0Bloys\u00a0said, adding that\u00a0his UK slate was\u00a0bolstered by HBO\u00a0first-look\u00a0deals with\u00a0UK\u00a0talent such as\u00a0Sharon Horgan<\/a> \u00a0and\u00a0Michaela Cole<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Perrette agreed that \u201cthe UK is unique \u2014 probably in the world\u201d in the sense that many US-commissioned shows are produced in the country, with\u00a0Bloys\u00a0highlighting series such as House of the Dragon, the upcoming Harry Potter series and Succession as content that straddles both.\u00a0<\/p>\n Such\u00a0\u201ccreative collaborations\u201d\u00a0will continue,\u00a0Bloys\u00a0said, \u201cwhether\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0us producing a show in the UK or some sort of\u00a0coproduction\u201d. He added: \u201cFrom a business point of view, it\u00a0comes down to\u00a0do we like the show.\u00a0and can we figure it out?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Perrette continued: \u201cWhat\u2019s\u00a0clear is that\u00a0we will be open for business\u00a0[in the UK]\u00a0and\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0have lots of conversations.\u00a0We\u2019re\u00a0cognisant\u00a0that\u00a0the world is changing and a lot of the broadcasters, in particular, are\u00a0looking for other ways to finance great storytelling.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HBO and\u00a0HBO Max\u00a0will\u00a0continue\u00a0working with\u00a0UK\u00a0broadcasters despite\u00a0the\u00a0streamer\u2019s\u00a0imminent launch in the country, but Warner Bros Discovery top brass have admitted deals…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":381011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[96,391,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-381010","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-tv","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=381010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=381010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=381010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=381010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}