HBO Max is finally crossing the Atlantic, with the streamer confirming its entry into the UK and Ireland and unveiling a four-tier plan built to compete with the biggest services on British and Irish screens.
The rollout brings ad-supported and ad-free options, 4K support on top tiers, and a broader Warner Bros. Discovery slate under one roof. It also folds in a sports add-on for fans who want premium football and European competitions without swapping apps.
Detailed pricing and plans for the UK and Ireland launch
HBO Max will launch with four plans available in both the UK and Ireland, offering a mix of video quality, concurrent streams, and download allowances to match different budgets.
- Basic with ads is set at £4.99 per month and supports streaming on two devices in Full HD. Movies that debut on HBO Max after their theatrical runs may be excluded from this tier during an initial “first-stream” window.
- Standard with ads costs £5.99 per month, keeps Full HD on two devices, and includes those first-stream movie titles. It also adds up to 30 downloads for offline viewing.
- Standard is £9.99 per month and mirrors the features of Standard with ads but removes advertising entirely.
- Premium is £14.99 per month, upgrading to 4K Ultra HD with Dolby Atmos where available, four simultaneous streams, and up to 100 downloads. This tier is ad-free.
Content lineup and launch partners for UK and Ireland
At launch, subscribers can expect a robust lineup spanning HBO originals, Warner Bros. films, and marquee series. Flagship titles include A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms from the Game of Thrones universe, Euphoria, The Pitt, and Heated Rivalry. Many of these shows have previously reached UK audiences via licensing deals with Sky and NOW; consolidating them on HBO Max should simplify where fans watch next.
The service is also arriving with distribution and content partnerships involving Sky and Prime Video, which is likely to shape early availability and app placement on major living-room devices. Not every co-production will migrate immediately: Industry, jointly produced with the BBC, remains on BBC iPlayer in the UK.
Sports are part of the package, via a TNT Sports add-on viewable inside the HBO Max app. For an additional £30.99 per month, subscribers can stream Premier League fixtures, the Emirates FA Cup, Adobe Women’s FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League coverage, reducing the need to hop between services on match days.
How HBO Max compares in the UK streaming market
HBO Max’s pricing deliberately undercuts several rivals. Netflix’s ad-supported tier is £5.99, while Standard is £12.99 and Premium sits at £18.99. Disney+ tiers land at £5.99, £9.99, and £14.99. Paramount+ is £4.99, £7.99, and £10.99. Prime Video charges £5.99 for ad-supported streaming and £8.99 for ad-free, and Apple TV tops out at £9.99.
That positions HBO Max’s £9.99 ad-free Standard tier as a value play against Netflix’s mid-tier plan, and its £14.99 Premium as a lower-cost 4K alternative to Netflix’s top tier. The £4.99 entry tier also gives price-sensitive viewers a foothold, though the first-stream movie caveat is a notable trade-off.
Market context and outlook for UK and Ireland rollout
According to Ofcom’s most recent Media Nations analysis, roughly two-thirds of UK households subscribe to at least one of Netflix, Prime Video, or Disney+, with Netflix present in about six in 10 homes. Traditional broadcast still accounts for 56% of in-home viewing, and YouTube ranks as the second most-watched service in the UK, just behind the BBC—underscoring how fragmented attention has become.
Against that backdrop, HBO Max’s strategy leans on three levers: competitive ad-free pricing, high-end 4K/Atmos delivery on Premium, and a clean funnel into live sports via TNT Sports. The download allowances (30 on Standard with ads and 100 on Premium) also target commuters and travelers, a meaningful cohort in the UK and Ireland.
The open question is churn. UK households increasingly rotate services based on tentpole shows and seasonal sports. A steady cadence of HBO originals, plus theatrical “first-stream” windows, will be critical to keeping subscribers engaged between franchise cycles.
For viewers, the calculus is straightforward: if you prize HBO’s prestige slate and want 4K for big-budget dramas and films, Premium is priced to tempt. Bargain hunters can test the waters at £4.99, with the understanding that some new-release films may require stepping up a tier. Either way, the UK and Ireland streaming race just gained a heavyweight competitor.
