HBO Max Global Boss Johannes Larcher: “It’s Not Always Best To Be First” – Mip TV

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“It’s not alway best to be first” is the verdict of HBO Max Global Boss Johannes Larcher, who said the streamer is reaching “saturation” point in the U.S.

as he talked up international strategy at a Mip TV keynote this afternoon.Speaking to the territories in which HBO Max will be launching after competitors including Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Paramount+, the former Hulu exec said his team can “learn a lot from the actions others have taken both successfully and less successfully in the past.”“We are doing this in a phased manner and are being capital efficient,” he added.His comments were in contrast to Paramount International boss Raffaele Annecchino, who used his Series Mania keynote to praise Paramount+’s quick launches in key European territories.Larcher rejected the notion that HBO Max is in direct competition with the other streamers, stating: “It’s not about being number one but about creating a service that best serves our customers.

There is room in these territories for multiple scaled businesses.”HBO Max has been busy launching in European territories this year and will quadruple its originals from 10 in 2019 to 40 by 2023 as it seeks more non U.S.

subs.To that end, Larcher said the service, which has 27M subscribers (including HBO subs), is reaching “saturation” in its home country.Around 90% of HBO Max growth is now forecast to come outside the U.S., said Larcher, as he pointed to competitors such as Netflix’s forecasted $9BN international spend by 2026, which could buy 700 episodes of The Crown or five Spider Man movies.Rather than “parachuting the U.S.