HBO Max is coming to Belgium, Streamz users to lose access to shows

The streaming service HBO Max will be launched in Belgium on 1 July, US media company Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Tuesday. This means that users of Flemish streaming service Streamz will soon lose access to most of HBO's shows.

HBO Max's catalogue includes popular series from the HBO production house, such as 'Game of Thrones', 'Succession' and 'The Last Of Us'. The streaming platform will also offer new and classic Warner Bros. movies, such as the complete Harry Potter series, and reality TV from Discovery and TLC.

It will also focus on sports with Eurosport, which is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. HBO Max also has the rights to this summer's Olympic Games in Paris.

The platform will offer multiple subscription tiers. A standard subscription to HBO Max will cost €9.99 per month, while the cheaper €5.99 tier will show ads before and during episodes. The premium tier, priced at €13.99 per month, will support four simultaneous streams in 4K resolution. The sports package will cost an extra 5 euros per month, but the Olympics will be available on all subscription tiers.

In the US, Warner Bros. Discovery rebranded the platform from HBO Max to Max last year. In Belgium and the Netherlands, however, the old name will remain because there is already a Dutch radio and television station called Max.

No more HBO on Streamz

Currently, Streamz own the rights to HBO's shows in Flanders, which means that users will lose access to most of them soon. Not all of the catalogue will disappear at once, as Streamz can still show recently released shows. For example, it will be able to broadcast season 2 of the Game of Thrones spin-off 'House of the Dragon'.

Streamz anticipated this move when it announced last year that it would focus more on Flemish series. However, the service still wants to offer international content and is working with companies like Paramount, Sony, Universal, Lionsgate and Amazon. According to a recent media survey by research institute imec, Streamz has reached 15 per cent of the Flemish population so far.

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