HBO Max has reached 1.5 million UK subscribers within its first five days, according to scaled estimates from Ampere Analysis, giving the Warner Bros Discovery service the fastest start of any streaming platform to pass the 1 million mark in the market.
Ampere said the early momentum puts HBO Max on course to meet its forecast of 6 million activated UK subscribers by the end of 2026, which would make it the country’s 4th largest streaming service.
The research company said Sky has played a central role in the launch, with 77% of HBO Max activations coming from existing Sky or NOW households. That underlines the continued importance of Sky as a distribution partner, despite the end of its former exclusivity over HBO programming and parts of Warner’s film library in the UK and Ireland.
Ampere said Sky’s contract structure could also help limit churn. It noted that around half of UK streaming subscribers who signed up in Q1 2025 had left within a year, while Sky’s longer-term contracts, typically lasting around 24 months, may help support retention for bundled services.
The data suggests HBO Max is largely being added to existing subscription stacks rather than replacing rival services. Among new HBO Max customers, 68% also take Paramount+ and 68% Netflix, while 53% subscribe to Discovery+, 46% to Disney+, and 32% to Sky Sports.
Only 12% of HBO Max subscribers cancelled at least 1 service in March before signing up, according to Ampere. Where switching did occur, it was more likely to come from rival streamers than from Sky or NOW. Disney+ accounted for 36% of switching activity and Prime Video for 17%, while NOW represented just 4%.
Mayssa Jamil, senior analyst at Ampere Analysis, said the figures point to strong early demand driven by incremental take-up rather than substitution. Switching activity remains relatively limited, suggesting this is largely incremental growth rather than substitution. At the same time, Sky’s bundling strategy is reinforcing its continued role as a key distribution partner and is serving as a template for how pay TV operators can stabilise their customer bases in an era of cord cutting.”
Ampere said further subscriber growth is likely in the weeks ahead, supported by the availability of TNT Sports content on HBO Max, including major football fixtures in early April.
