Hbo Max bets on Italy: 'We are last, but we will win with quality'

Coming last is not necessarily a disadvantage. It can become, if managed correctly, a strategic asset. This is the key with which JB Perrette, ceo and president Global Streaming and Games of Warner Bros Discovery, presents the Italian launch of Hbo Max in this interview with Il Sole 24 Ore. "We talk about last mover advantage," he explains. 'We learned a lot from what came before us'.

The strategy, Perrette makes clear, is clear: avoid volume competition and focus on distinctive positioning. "We don't sell objects. We sell unique stories,' he says. Stories that 'until now were perceived as Sky stories here in Italy. Here, with Hbo Max we will be more recognisable in the eyes of users'. Hence the editorial line: 'We do not aim to be "more", but "better"'. A message, this, that intercepts a now mature streaming market. This is also why the offer model follows a consolidated industrial logic: 'Three levels and three price bands, lower with advertising, intermediate without advertising and premium'. On future prices, the company remains cautious: 'For 2026 we feel calm', while recalling that 'investing in great stories does not come cheap'. As for the comparison with Netflix, it is approached in terms of complementarity rather than direct confrontation: 'We actually see Netflix as a complement; it is a bit like television, like 'basic cable' or 'free-to-air''. To the definition of 'utility', the answer is clear: 'Yes, they are a utility: very broad, a little bit of everything for everyone, a lot of volume. We are not'. Hbo Max thus claims a premium positioning, oriented towards an adult and family audience.

Of course, the landing of Hbo Max in Italy comes at a time when a gigantic game is being played out on the world stage for control of the parent company Warner Bros Discovery, pitting Netflix (which has already reached an agreement) and Paramount (which does not want to give in) against each other. Can all this be a game-changer for the development of Hbo Max in Italy? Perrette answers with a mix of realism and diplomacy: 'Corporate dynamics will not slow down our market vision. On the contrary: this competitiveness reinforces the urgency of having a clear, differentiated and sustainable offer. And if we are challenged, it is evidently because of our quality'. The launch in Italy thus takes on a strategic value. 'Incredibly important,' Perrette emphasises, 'given that it is one of the three big markets, along with Germany and the UK, in which we were not present,' with the service having 128 million subscribers worldwide. The goal: 'Within three years of launch in each market we must be profitable with millions of users'. This is where the distribution partnerships with Tim and Amazon Prime Video as well as direct-to-consumer come in.

And sport? "For us it is an additional offer," in exchange for EUR 3 per month. "We imagine that not all subscribers are interested in sport. Those who wish to watch it are free to do so in exchange for a very reasonable sum'. An offer that will increase? "The question is whether we will buy Serie A or Champions League matches? We do not fantasise. We are focused on entertainment.

Lastly, local productions, cited as an example of content 'capable of generating cultural conversation'. 'Portobello' is an example of this, according to JB Perrette. Alessandro Araimo, Warner Bros Discovery South Europe CEO, agrees: 'We work on Italian content with impact stories, which generate interest and are able to integrate with the international product. Distribution agreements, then, are a strategic element because they allow us to reach the largest number of subscribers more easily and flexibly'.