• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, February 1, 2022

WarnerMedia announced today that its HBO Max streaming service will launch in 15 more European markets on March 8.

The countries are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.

“HBO Max is currently live in 46 territories across the Americas and Europe, with that rising to 61 with these launches,” the company said.

The service most recently rolled out in Span and the Nordics, in October 2021.

Plans call for expansion in six more European countries, including Greece and Turkey, later in 2022.

International expansion has been critical in the rapid growth of HBO Max. WarnerMedia reported having 73.8 million combined HBO and HBO Max subscribers as of year end 2021, surpassing its target range of 70 million to 73 million for the year. Nearly 8 million of the 13 million subscribers added by the service in 2021 were outside the U.S. 

To woo new international subscribers and retain those who have been on HBO Go, WarnerMedia is touting attractions such as access to new Warner Bros. movies just 45 days after their theatrical release and, in some markets, like Central and Eastern European countries, life-of-subscription price discounts exceeding 30%.