HBO bounces back in Nordics with Max launch

The launch of HBO Max has enabled the WarnerMedia-owned streamer to bounce back in the Nordic market to once again occupy the number three slot, according to Swedish research and consultancy outfit Mediavision.

HBO Nordic was replaced by HBO Max in the Nordic countries at the end of October. Mediavision said that the launch had put HBO back among the Nordic SVOD top three, with an average local household penetration of just below 20%.

In 2019, after the final season of Game of Thrones premiered, HBO Nordic peaked at close to two million subscribers. However, the service subsequently lost approximately 400 000 subscribing households.

According to Mediavision, the launch of HBO Max has given the service more than 635 000 new subscribing households, taking it back into the number three slot among streamers with a total of 2.2 million subscribing households – the highest number for HBO ever recorded by Mediavision.

“The launch of HBO Max has had a direct, positive, effect on the total number of Nordic SVOD subscriptions. However, the effect on household penetration is less substantial. The vast majority of the new customers already held at least one subscription to another service. This means that HBO Max has pushed ‘stacking’ on the Nordic market. This is similar to what we saw when Disney Plus launched in the fall of 2020,” said Marie Nilsson, CEO of Mediavision.

“Our conclusion is that despite a clearly maturing market in terms of SVOD household penetration, we can still expect a continuous growth of subscriptions. The demand for strong content has still not reached its peak in the Nordics.”