Warner Bros Discovery is anticipating at least 150 million users by 2026 after the rebranding of HBO Max as Max led to a greater number of subscriber additions than expected.
Over the course of 2024, Warner has launched Max in more than 70 countries, and added 19 million direct-to-consumer subscribers.
In November, Max launched in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong and there are plans to extend to Australia in March.
“We expect strong DTC subscriber growth to continue throughout 2025. And we now have a clear path to reach at least 150 million global subscribers by the end of 2026, with corresponding strong DTC revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth,” the company wrote in a Shareholder Letter.
The 150 million will include the 10 million current subscribers to Sky in the UK and Ireland, where Max will launch in the second quarter of 2026. The UK debut will be preceded by launches in Germany and Italy during Q1 2026.
Max has now also turned its first profit, though despite this overall revenues dipped by 1% to $10.0 billion.
