RTL+ and HBO Max merge platforms in unprecedented German streaming bundle

The German streaming market enters a new phase on January 13 with the announcement that RTL+ will offer exclusive bundled access to HBO Max, combining Warner Bros. Discovery's international content library with RTL Deutschland's local programming. The partnership was announced on January 8, 2026, positioning RTL+ as the sole platform in Germany where subscribers can access both services through a single subscription.

According to RTL Deutschland's statement, the bundle creates unprecedented value for German viewers. "RTL+ and HBO Max – that's a great combination of two spectacular content universes," said Stephan Schmitter, CEO of RTL Deutschland. The service provides access to RTL+ highlights including "New Stories of Pumuckl," "Make Love, Fake Love," and UEFA Europa League matches alongside HBO Max blockbusters such as "House of the Dragon," "The White Lotus," and catalog titles like "Game of Thrones," "Sex and the City," and "Friends."

The technical arrangement represents a significant departure from typical streaming distribution models. Rather than maintaining separate subscriptions, German consumers will purchase access through RTL+ infrastructure, with HBO Max content integrated into the platform's existing architecture. This consolidation addresses growing European concerns about streaming service fragmentation, where industry research shows 57% of viewers believe too many streaming services exist.

Pricing structures offer two distinct tiers. The entry-level bundle combines RTL+ Premium and HBO Max Basis (with advertising) at €11.99 monthly, compared to €15.98 for separate subscriptions. The premium configuration pairs RTL+ Premium ad-free with HBO Max Standard at €17.99 monthly, versus €24.98 when purchased independently. Neither tier requires long-term commitments, maintaining monthly cancellation rights.

Launch incentives provide temporary discounts through February 13, 2026. The advertising-supported bundle drops to €9.99 while the premium package falls to €15.99 during this introductory period. These promotional rates aim to accelerate adoption before HBO Max establishes independent German operations.

The timing proves strategic for both companies. HBO Max previously announced January 2026 German market entry following the conclusion of a 15-year distribution agreement with Sky Deutschland. Warner Bros. Discovery had consistently positioned HBO Max as Germany's anticipated third-largest streaming platform, trailing only Netflix and Amazon Prime Video in market ambitions.

For RTL Deutschland, the partnership extends existing collaboration frameworks. The companies previously established advertising sales cooperation through El Cartel Brothers, a Munich-based joint venture announced in September 2025. RTL Deutschland also secured broader Warner Bros. Discovery content deals earlier in 2025, creating foundation for expanded cooperation.

"With this bundle, we're igniting the next stage in RTL+'s success story and preparing HBO Max's grand stage for market launch in Germany," Schmitter stated. "After our comprehensive Warner content deal and marketing partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery, we're taking another major step in our partnership with our new streaming bundle from RTL+ and HBO Max."

Matthias Heinze, SVP Commercial & Managing Director Warner Bros. Discovery Germany, Switzerland & Austria, emphasized content complementarity. "With the bundle of HBO Max and RTL+, we're combining iconic, internationally celebrated storytelling from HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery with RTL+'s strong local anchoring and most popular hits," according to the company statement. "Together we're creating an offering that perfectly complements each other and unites entertainment for every taste and all generations under one roof."

The arrangement reflects broader structural pressures facing European broadcasters. RTL Group recently announced 600 job cuts in Germany, attributing workforce reductions to weakened television advertising revenue and intensified competition from American streaming platforms. Traditional television advertising declined 6.9% during the first half of 2025 for RTL Group, while digital advertising revenue surged 27%, demonstrating accelerating market transformation.

Germany's streaming landscape underwent fundamental shifts throughout 2025. Video streaming overtook traditional television for the first time, with 87% of Germans aged 16 and above streaming content compared to 86% watching broadcast television, according to Bitkom research presented in September 2024. This milestone marked historic reversal from the previous year when 92% watched traditional TV versus 86% streaming.

Content libraries provide distinct competitive advantages. RTL+ operates with over 7 million subscribers across Germany and Hungary, positioning it as Germany's most successful domestic streaming service. The platform delivers exclusive live sports through UEFA Europa League rights, reality programming, local fiction productions, news coverage, and children's content. RTL Deutschland's parent company Bertelsmann reports comprehensive reach across German households through free-to-air television channels RTL, VOX, RTL Zwei, Super RTL, NTV, and Nitro.

HBO Max brings Warner Bros. Discovery's international catalog, including HBO's prestige drama series, Warner Bros. theatrical releases, Discovery's factual entertainment programming, and select sports content. The platform operates globally with 128 million subscribers as of third quarter 2025, representing 16% year-over-year growth according to Warner Bros. Discovery's earnings announcement.

Technical specifications mirror standard streaming implementations. The advertising-supported tier delivers Full HD resolution with commercial inventory inserted at predetermined intervals. The premium configuration provides 4K UHD resolution where content supports this specification, alongside Dolby Atmos audio encoding for compatible devices. Both tiers enable offline downloads, though quantity limitations differ between subscription levels.

Distribution partnerships have proven critical for RTL+ market expansion. The service integrated into Deutsche Telekom's MagentaTV plans through agreements extended until 2030, providing access across Deutschland Telekom's substantial subscriber base. RTL+ additionally became available through Sky Stream's IPTV platform in August 2024, expanding reach through cross-platform distribution agreements.

Advertising implications extend beyond subscription revenue. RTL Group operates RTL AdAlliance as its international advertising division, providing unified campaign management across television channels, streaming platforms, and digital properties. The company launched its AdManager platform in March 2025, offering self-service advertising solutions for agencies and brands across multiple European markets. Ad Alliance recently partnered with Utiq to establish privacy-compliant digital targeting capabilities using telecommunications-powered identification.

Connected television advertising represents substantial growth opportunities as viewing patterns shift. The bundle creates premium video inventory competing directly with traditional television advertising while offering superior targeting and measurement capabilities. RTL Group's comprehensive media portfolio enables integrated campaigns spanning linear television, streaming platforms, radio stations, and digital properties.

Warner Bros. Discovery maintains separate advertising technology infrastructure through its StreamX platform, which unifies media planning, activation, and measurement across linear television, digital platforms, and streaming services. The company announced a multi-year agreement with VideoAmp in July 2025, expanding partnerships to provide currency optionality and advanced data measurement solutions across linear, digital, and cross-platform campaigns.

Market context shows continued industry consolidation. Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans in June 2025 to separate into two publicly traded companies, dividing streaming content production operations from traditional television networks. This restructuring aims to establish WBD Streaming & Studios and WBD Global Networks as independent entities by mid-2026, with completion expected to clarify strategic focus areas.

European regulatory frameworks increasingly support broadcaster consolidation. Survey data indicates over 60% of European viewers support broadcaster mergers to better challenge global platforms. Recent regulatory approvals for the RTL Nederland sale to DPG Media demonstrate shifting attitudes enabling public broadcasters to pool resources while maintaining public service missions.

The bundle's exclusivity provisions remain undefined in public announcements. Whether Warner Bros. Discovery maintains rights to launch standalone HBO Max subscriptions in Germany alongside the RTL+ bundle, or if RTL+ holds temporary exclusive distribution, was not specified in company statements. This distinction carries implications for competitive dynamics as German streaming adoption accelerates.

Austria will receive similar bundling options according to RTL Deutschland's announcement, though specific timing and pricing structures for Austrian market entry were not disclosed. Warner Bros. Discovery previously indicated 2026 expansion plans for United Kingdom, Ireland, and Italy alongside German operations, targeting approximately 100 global markets for HBO Max distribution.

Content familiarity drives substantial viewing on global streaming platforms. Digital i tracking data presented in TV Key Facts 2025 showed legacy programs dominating top 10 most-viewed shows by viewing hours across HBO Max, Disney+, Prime Video, and Netflix. "Friends," "The Big Bang Theory," and "Grey's Anatomy" ranked among most-watched content across 19 European countries, with "The Big Bang Theory"—which broadcast from 2007 to 2019—ranking second in viewing hours.

Competitive pressure intensifies across European markets. Netflix maintains significant German market share through early service launch in September 2014 and subsequent German-language originals including "Dark," "Barbarians," and "1899." Amazon Prime Video benefits from bundling with Amazon Prime shopping benefits, creating value propositions for consumers utilizing Amazon's e-commerce services. Disney+ represents HBO Max's most direct competitor for premium content positioning.

Warner Bros. Discovery restored its HBO Max brand name in July 2025, concluding a two-year period when the service operated as "Max." Consumer research revealed users consistently favored HBO's premium content over Discovery's reality programming, driving the strategic decision to emphasize quality-focused offerings over volume-based programming.

Financial performance demonstrates streaming's increasing importance for traditional broadcasters. RTL Group revised 2025 profit outlook downward in November, reducing full-year adjusted EBITA guidance from €780 million to €650 million, attributing the decrease to weaker television advertising markets in Germany and France. However, streaming business demonstrated growth across all performance indicators, with RTL Group reaching 7.6 million paying subscribers by September 2025 while reducing streaming start-up losses from €137 million to approximately €50 million.

Content spending continues escalating. RTL Group increased annual content expenditure from €338 million in 2024 with targets approaching €500 million by 2026, supporting original programming development. Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group delivered strong box office performance during 2025, becoming the first studio to surpass $4 billion in global revenue despite releasing only 11 films.

Technology integration challenges remain significant. The bundle requires seamless interoperability between different content delivery systems, user authentication mechanisms, and digital rights management protocols. Features like instant restart and time-shifting across multiple channels and on-demand content necessitate sophisticated backend systems and robust network infrastructure.

The partnership underscores fundamental transformation across European media. Traditional television loses ground to streaming, with 77% of Germans now using video streaming services weekly according to industry research. This creates urgency for established broadcasters to adapt business models while maintaining competitive advantages through local content production, cultural connections, and relationships with regionally relevant advertisers.

Timeline

• January 8, 2026: RTL Deutschland announces exclusive HBO Max bundle partnership
• January 13, 2026: HBO Max launches in Germany through RTL+ exclusive bundle
• February 13, 2026: Introductory pricing promotion expires
• November 2025: RTL Group reduces 2025 profit guidance citing weak TV advertising
• November 2025: HBO Max German launch confirmed at Medientage München
• November 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery reports 128 million subscribers
• October 2025: European broadcasters face mounting streaming competition analysis
• September 2025: RTL Deutschland secures Warner Bros. Discovery content deals
• September 2025: Streaming surpasses traditional TV in Germany for first time
• September 2025: Ad Alliance partners with Utiq for cookieless targeting
• August 2025: RTL Group digital advertising surges 27%
• July 2025: HBO Max brand name restored after two-year Max experiment
• June 2025: Warner Bros. Discovery announces plan to split into two companies
• December 2025: RTL announces 600 German job cuts
• August 2024: RTL+ becomes available on Sky Stream IPTV platform

Summary

Who: RTL Deutschland, led by CEO Stephan Schmitter, partners with Warner Bros. Discovery Germany under SVP Commercial & Managing Director Matthias Heinze to launch an exclusive streaming bundle combining RTL+ and HBO Max platforms for German subscribers.

What: An exclusive bundled subscription offering combining RTL+ Premium and HBO Max services under single monthly subscriptions, available in two configurations: advertising-supported tier at €11.99 monthly (€9.99 during introductory period) and premium ad-free tier at €17.99 monthly (€15.99 during introductory period), providing unified access to both content libraries including UEFA Europa League, RTL+ original productions, HBO prestige series, Warner Bros. films, and Discovery entertainment programming.

When: Announced January 8, 2026, with service launch scheduled for January 13, 2026, coinciding with HBO Max's German market entry following the December 2025 expiration of Sky Deutschland's 15-year HBO content distribution agreement, with introductory pricing available through February 13, 2026.

Where: Germany serves as primary launch market, with Austria receiving similar bundling options at unspecified future date, while HBO Max simultaneously expands to United Kingdom, Ireland, and Italy during 2026 as Warner Bros. Discovery targets approximately 100 global markets for platform distribution.

Why: The partnership addresses structural challenges facing both companies as German streaming overtakes traditional television viewing (87% versus 86% as of September 2024), enables RTL+ to differentiate against Netflix and Amazon Prime Video through exclusive premium content access, provides Warner Bros. Discovery with established distribution infrastructure for German market entry, responds to consumer frustration with streaming service fragmentation (57% believe too many services exist), and creates advertising inventory across combined platforms as traditional television revenue declines while digital advertising revenue grows 27% for RTL Group during first half 2025.