Despite Netflix Buyout, HBO Max UK Launch Going Ahead

For five years, UK viewers have been waiting for HBO Max – the streaming home of some of television’s biggest shows. Years of delays, licensing tangles with Sky, corporate reshuffles – and then finally, we got a firm launch date. Then the chaos started.

Last week, Netflix announced it was buying Warner Bros. Discovery for £54bn. Days later, Paramount launched a hostile £77bn counter-bid. The streaming service we’ve been waiting for is suddenly caught in a bidding war between two of Hollywood’s biggest players.

Which brought up the question – is HBO Max still coming to the UK? Or has the takeover drama killed it before it even arrives?

A Warner Bros. Discovery spokesperson has now confirmed to Cord Busters that HBO Max will indeed launch in the UK and Ireland in late March 2026 as planned – regardless of who ends up owning the company.

For UK viewers who’ve been waiting years for HBO Max to finally arrive, it’s welcome news. The service will launch as scheduled, complete with the Sky bundling deal announced last year.

But there’s still a rather large elephant in the room – nobody knows whether HBO Max will still exist as a standalone service by 2027, or whether it’ll be absorbed into Netflix (or possibly Paramount+, if their hostile bid succeeds).

Let’s unpack what’s happening, what you’ll actually get when HBO Max launches in March, and what the future might hold.

The Takeover Drama: A Quick Recap

If you’ve been following the story, you’ll know this has been quite the week in streaming news.

On December 5, Netflix announced it had agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and television studios, along with HBO Max, for £54bn ($72bn).

As we covered in detail, the deal would give Netflix control of some of the most valuable entertainment franchises on the planet – Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, the DC Universe, and Warner Bros’ vast film library.

And, in an email sent to its subscribers (including in the UK), Netflix said that for now, nothing is changing – and HBO Max will continue to operate as a standalone service. At least until the deal is completed.

Then on December 8, Paramount Skydance launched a hostile takeover bid, going directly to Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders with an all-cash offer of $30 per share (roughly £77bn total).

Unlike Netflix, Paramount wants to buy the ENTIRE company, including all the cable networks (and, in the UK, Freeview channels), and Discovery+, which Netflix doesn’t want.

Warner Bros. Discovery says it will “carefully review” Paramount’s offer and issue a recommendation to shareholders within 10 business days. Netflix remains confident their deal will go through, but Paramount’s CEO David Ellison is equally convinced his offer is superior.

The whole situation is messy, politically charged, and won’t be resolved for a while.

But HBO Max Is Definitely Launching In March

Despite all this chaos, we can now confirm the March 2026 UK launch is still happening.

HBO Max will finally arrive in the UK and Ireland in late March – just over three months from now – regardless of who ends up owning the company.

This makes sense when you think about it. The Netflix deal won’t be finalised until late 2026 at the earliest (these things take 12-18 months to get through regulators).

Paramount’s hostile bid would take even longer if it succeeds. Warner Bros. Discovery is still running the show for now, and they’ve got a service to launch.

For UK viewers, this is good news. You’ll get access to HBO Max as planned, with all the content that’s been promised.

What You’ll Actually Get With HBO Max

HBO Max brings together content from several major sources into one streaming platform.

HBO’s prestige dramas are the headline attraction – shows like House of the Dragon, The White Lotus and The Last of Us.

If you’ve been watching these on Sky Atlantic (or NOW), you’ll continue to have access (more on Sky in a moment).

Warner Bros. films make up a huge part of the library. We’re talking about one of Hollywood’s most extensive back catalogues – from classics like The Wizard of Oz and Casablanca to modern blockbusters like The Batman, Dune, and the entire Harry Potter franchise.

DC Universe content means all the superhero shows and films – Peacemaker, The Penguin, upcoming Superman films, and the extensive DC back catalogue.

Max Originals include the highly anticipated Harry Potter TV series that’s been in development, along with other exclusive productions made specifically for the platform, along with shows that never made it to the UK so far – such as the critically acclaimed medical drama, The Pitt.

The service will most likely launch with three subscription tiers, based on what HBO Max offers in other markets:

• Basic with Ads – the entry-level option with advertising
• Standard – ad-free streaming, likely with HD quality
• Premium – ad-free with 4K content and additional features

UK pricing hasn’t been officially announced yet, but based on other European markets, we’d expect similar pricing tiers to the likes of Disney+ and Netflix (in the UK).

TNT Sports is also expected to be available through HBO Max, though exact details about whether it’s included in the main subscription or requires an add-on remain unclear.

Given that TNT Sports currently costs £30.99 per month through Discovery+, it seems likely it’ll be a separate add-on rather than bundled into the standard HBO Max price.

Sky Customers: You’re Still Getting The Deal

Back in December 2024, Sky struck a major deal with Warner Bros. Discovery that guaranteed Sky and NOW customers would get HBO Max bundled in at no extra cost when it launches.

That deal is still happening, for now.

If you’re a Sky customer (or a NOW Entertainment subscriber), you’ll get access to HBO Max’s ad-supported tier included in your existing subscription from late March onwards, at no extra charge.

Existing HBO shows will continue airing on Sky Atlantic as well, so if you prefer watching through Sky’s traditional channels rather than the HBO Max app, you can keep doing that.

For Sky, this arrangement makes perfect sense in the short term. They retain access to HBO’s valuable content, their customers get an extra streaming service thrown in, and everyone’s happy.

The question is what happens when Netflix (or Paramount) takes control.

Netflix already has bundling deals with Sky – you can get Netflix included with most Sky packages. So if Netflix eventually absorbs HBO Max into its main service, Sky customers might end up accessing that HBO content through their existing Netflix bundle rather than a separate HBO Max app.

That would actually simplify things, though it would also mean Netflix could charge Sky more money for access to HBO’s premium library – costs that would inevitably get passed on to subscribers through price rises.

If Paramount wins the bidding war instead, things get more complicated. Paramount would likely want to merge HBO Max with Paramount+, creating a combined streaming service.

Sky already bundles Paramount+ with Sky Cinema subscriptions, so perhaps a similar arrangement would emerge for a merged HBO Max/Paramount+ service.

But all of that is speculation about what happens AFTER the takeover completes. For now, Sky customers are getting exactly what was promised – HBO Max bundled in from March 2026.

If Paramount’s bid succeeds, expect the whole process to drag on well into 2027 before anything actually changes. HBO Max would launch in March 2026, operate normally for over a year, and then transition to whatever Paramount decides to do with it. Or Netflix.

Consolidation Continues

A few years ago, every major media company decided it needed its own streaming service. Consumers complained there were too many services, and the industry heard you.

Now we’re consolidating back down to a handful of mega-services.

Within a few years, the UK streaming market will probably be dominated by three or four massive players – Netflix (potentially with HBO Max absorbed), Disney (with everything Disney/Pixar/Marvel/Star Wars/Hulu), Amazon (because they have infinite money), and maybe one or two others hanging on.

For UK viewers specifically, this consolidation raises questions about Sky’s future. If Netflix owns HBO Max, and Sky’s main selling point is bundling Netflix and HBO content together, why bother with the Sky middleman?

Sky’s answer has to be original programming and potentially sports. As we covered back in August, they’re already ramping up investment in Sky Originals – and the rumoured ITV acquisition would give them access to some of Britain’s most-watched programmes.

But at least now we know one thing for certain – HBO Max is coming to the UK in March, regardless of all the chaos swirling around it.

Whether it stays HBO Max for long is another question entirely.

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