Warner Bros Discovery’s Max to be bundled with Sky after 2026 launch
Sky and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) have reached a new distribution and bundle agreement that will see the ad-supported version of WBD’s streaming service Max bundled with Sky ay no extra cost once it launches in 2026.
Under the deal, Sky customers will also continue to find HBO shows, such as The Last of Us and House of the Dragon, on Sky Atlantic and Sky’s on-demand service, as long as the series aired before the end of 2025.
Programmes launched after 2026 will appear on Max, but will still be accessible by Sky subscribers as part of their bundle.
In addition, Now UK and Ireland Entertainment members will also receive bundled access to the ad-supported version of Max.
The renewed partnership terms come ahead of the expiration of Sky and WBD’s current exclusivity agreement next year. The current agreement has been extended until Max launches in 2026.
Sky group CEO Dana Strong said the deal “solidifies Sky as the ultimate TV destination”.
“This new partnership provides an expanded range of content for our customers to enjoy WBD’s popular storytelling through Max,” she continued. “The combination of content from our partners, alongside our slate of Sky Originals and Sky’s leading aggregation of the UK and Ireland’s best content apps, gives us an unrivalled entertainment proposition and an exceptional line-up of the world’s best shows.”
Andrew Georgiou, president and managing director for WBD UK and Ireland as well as WBD Sports Europe, called the agreement “hugely exciting for everyone who loves award-winning scripted entertainment and movies”.
He described the 2026 UK launch of Max “a significant step in its global roll-out” and said the new agreement “will continue WBD’s long-standing collaboration with Sky and deepen our relationship across distribution and now the bundling of Max.”
Georgiou explained: “This will enable Max immediately at launch to be available to millions of passionate video subscribers and separately be available to the more than 20m other broadband households in the territories through Max direct-to-consumer and other partnerships.”
Analysis: Mutual benefit
Monday’s news follows months of back-and-forth between Sky and WBD over the future of the companies’ carriage deal.
The relationship at one point had the potential to sour: after WBD sought to keep its in-development Harry Potter TV series for Max exclusively rather than grant licensing rights to Sky, Sky sued, alleging WBD was in breach of their current contract.
But the new agreement appears to be a win for both parties. It ensures Sky customers will still be able to access highly popular premium HBO content as part of their subscription, even if shows produced after 2026 will technically be exclusive to Max.
Sky already has a bundle package that includes subscriptions to Sky Atlantic, Netflix and Discovery+ at no extra cost. By adding Max’s ad tier for free, the proposition becomes even more consumer-friendly.
For WBD, the agreement guarantees immediate market penetration for Max in what has become a crowded streaming market.
Without the deal, it was unclear how WBD would have sought to quickly acquire a mass of subscribers for Max when its pre-2025 content library would still be accessible to Sky subscribers. While the Harry Potter series is highly anticipated, users could have simply signed up to a Max subscription to watch the series before cancelling again.
The agreement will also be welcome news for Sky after a tumultuous recent period in which it was revealed that the broadcaster owes its advertising partners hundreds of millions of pounds after it discovered instances of under-reporting dating as far back as 2017.
Furthermore, in October Sky announced its losses had doubled in 2023 to £224m, as a result of an increase in operating expenses across all of its verticals and flat revenues.
Sky’s direct-to-consumer segment did grow, however, to £8.5bn last year and no doubt the broadcaster hopes its latest deal with Max will entice more subscriber growth come 2026.
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