Warner Bros. Discovery
NASDAQ:WBD
Netflix’s megabid for Warner Bros Discovery's film assets marks the final act in Hollywood’s decades-long battle with Big Tech. And the tech giants are winning.
The two streaming platforms have for months been expected to be captured by Labor's streaming quotas, and stand to be the hardest hit by the new regime from next year.
The distribution deal represents the first major tie-up involving HBO Max in the Australian market following its launch earlier this year.
Fresh research from analysts at Kantar shows the platform has added an estimated 400,000 subscribers during its first quarter in the Australian market, claiming 5% of market share.
The HBO parent company is planning to make more local programming available to Australian subscribers of HBO Max, following its arrival in the market earlier this year.
The HBO parent company has enlisted Nine Entertainment to sell ads for its standalone streaming platform ahead of its local launch later this month.
Max, the company’s streaming service, will face new quotas for Australian drama content, joining Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+ as targets of local content investment rules.
Confirmation of the target launch timeline comes as the company advances talks with local media and telecommunications firms over possible launch partnerships and carriage agreements.
