Warner Bros Discovery has confirmed the local launch of its streaming platform Max, known as HBO Max in some markets, as the global streamer looks to take its own slice of what is already a hotly competitive video market in Australian.

The platform has long been expected to land down under, with Warner Bros. Discovery president of APAC, James Gibbons, confirming the speculation on the same day that Max landed in Japan via local partner U-Next.

Speaking at the APOS Conference in Bali on Wednesday, Gibbons said the platform would be rolling out direct-to-consumers in the first half of 2025, and will debut in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan by the end of 2024, with Max replacing the existing HBO Go services.

Warner Bros is the parent company of HBO, the network behind hit shows like House of Dragon, Succession and the Last of Us. The arrival of the platform is expected to mark the end of a longstanding deal with Foxtel, which has until now housed the valuable HBO assets from its legacy subscription TV businesses and streaming platform Binge.

Back in May, Capital Brief reported that the HBO parent company was scoping out potential telecommunications partners for the Australian launch of the Max platform. Such a partnership, according to Capital Brief's sources, would allow Max to quickly build out a subscriber base.