Another streaming service: HBO Max launches in Germany

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After a long preparation, the streaming service HBO Max is now available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Luxembourg. Since the morning of January 13, users can subscribe to the offering from Warner Bros. Discovery to watch films like “Harry Potter” and series like “Game of Thrones”.

HBO Max can be booked in two ways: Those who also want to see RTL content and want to save some money can book the streaming service in a bundle with RTL+. This way, you get RTL+ Premium and HBO Max Basic with ads for 12 euros instead of 16 euros per month. For the bundle consisting of RTL+ Premium Ad-Free and HBO Max Standard, you pay 18 euros per month; separately, you would pay 26 euros.

Those who don't need RTL content will be better off with a standalone HBO Max subscription:

• Basic with ad interruptions: Costs 6 euros per month. From January 1, 2027, the price will increase to 7 euros per month.
• Standard: Costs 12 euros per month. From January 1, 2027, the price will increase to 13 euros per month.
• Premium: Costs 17 euros per month. From January 1, 2027, the price will increase to 18 euros per month.

4K for 17 euros per month

A sports add-on subscription for 3 euros per month is available for every tariff. This includes Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2 with cycling, tennis, and other sports. All HBO Max users can watch the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 scheduled for February at no extra charge – even if they have not booked the sports add-on package.

In the Basic subscription with ads and in the Standard subscription, you can stream on two devices simultaneously in Full-HD resolution. The Standard subscription shows no ads and offers the option to download 30 content items for offline viewing. Those who want to watch films and series in 4K resolution must book the Premium subscription for 17 euros per month. There is no option to combine this subscription tier with RTL+.

If desired, HBO Max can also be booked in Germany and Austria via Prime Video. This means you don't need a separate app, but the price remains the same.

Sky loses HBO content

Until now, many HBO contents were available on Sky in Germany. Sky Deutschland is to be taken over by RTL Group; the deal is pending but still needs to be approved by regulatory authorities. Since HBO Max is offered in a bundle with RTL+, RTL and Sky will not completely lose the HBO content.

For Sky users, the launch of HBO Max in Germany is still bad news for now. While some series like “The White Lotus”, “Euphoria”, or “House of the Dragon” will continue to be available on Sky offerings parallel to HBO Max, new series like “A Game of Thrones: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” will be shown exclusively on HBO Max. In addition, some older HBO content has already disappeared from Sky subscriptions. This includes the original “Game of Thrones” series and the “Harry Potter” films.

Netflix wants to buy Warner Bros.

It remains to be seen how long HBO Max will be offered in its current form. Because the situation surrounding the streaming service is tricky: The supervisory board of Warner Bros. Discovery wants to sell Warner Bros.' entertainment business to competitor Netflix. However, Paramount has also submitted a takeover offer and is aggressively trying to convince Warner shareholders. Paramount has now even decided to sue Warner.

It is currently unclear whether Netflix will continue to offer HBO Max as a separate service if the takeover is successful. Competitor Paramount also offers its streaming service, where HBO content could theoretically be offered.