Warner Bros. Discovery, Canal+ Reach New Multi-Year Distribution Deal

Warner Bros. Discovery has reached a new multi-year agreement with Canal+ that will bring HBO Max to two new territories: Belgium and Austria. The streaming service will also continue to be available on Canal+ in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.

In addition to the distribution of HBO Max, the deal covers the renewed distribution of 12 WBD channels across MultiChoice Group territories in Africa, including CNN International and Cartoon Network, Cartoon Network Porto, Cartoonito, Cartoonito Porto, Discovery Channel, Discovery Family, Real Time, ID, TLC, HGTV, Travel, TNT Africa and Food Network.

Additionally, the pact renews an exclusive pay-TV window for Warner Bros. movies, which will land on Canal+ six months after being released in theaters in France. WBD and Canal+ called the deal a “major milestone in the development of their collaboration on an international scale.”

The move comes as HBO Max is available in over 100 global markets as part of an ongoing international expansion, with more launches planned in the U.K., Germany, Italy and Ireland planned in 2026. Warner Bros. Discovery, which currently touts a total of 128 million subscribers globally, remains on track to reach at least 150 million subscribers by the end of 2026.

It also comes as WBD has entered into an $83 billion deal to sell its studio and streaming business to Netflix, which the companies expect will close in the next 12 to 18 months.

That deal is being challenged by a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid from Paramount, which WBD has advised its shareholders against. Though Paramount has submitted an amended offer, which includes a personal guarantee from Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, WBD’s board is expected to reject its latest proposal again.

“Our intentions when we buy Warner Bros. will be to continue to release Warner Bros. studio movies in theaters with the traditional windows,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during a conversation with Canal+ chair and CEO Maxime Saada earlier this month. “Then those movies would flow through the Canal+ output deal. That’s very exciting for us.”

“I know it’s very important to the people in France and around the world that people have the opportunity to see the films in cinema, and we intend to support it fully,” he added.

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