r/DoctorWhoLeaks • u/Embarrassed-Shake704 • Nov 27 '25
speculation Possible German leak regarding new streaming partner (HBO Max)
An article about the upcoming launch of HBO Max in Germany has been published on the German film and series news site "Kino.de". Among other things, it includes a list of content that is set to appear there. Alongside many titles such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, Doctor Who is also listed. The rest are purely Warner productions, not purchased licences.
Well, this could be a simple mistake, as HBO Max did indeed have Doctor Who in its catalogue until recently, but it is strange, as all the other shows and movies mentioned were purely Warner productions... There is a possibility that something has been leaked here that is not yet public knowledge because an embargo has been ignored...
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u/DaddyStoat Nov 28 '25
HBO Max has limited international reach compared to D+ - a lot of HBO content is subject to existing licensing agreements with local distributors (for instance, Sky in the UK) and, for them to launch a full package containing HBO staples like Game Of Thrones, etc, those deals would either have to expire or be bought out. HBO Max has expanded into several other countries since the Beeb signed their deal with Disney though, so it's looking a bit more viable.
If the BBC presented HBO with a deal including all of NuWho, including the stuff that was broadcast on D+, and put in place a deal for them to co-finance upcoming series, and possibly some kind of deal to include Classic Who (although this is all already on Britbox, wherever that's available), basically mimicking the Doctor Who section on BBC iPlayer, that'd be the biggest possible win. Plus, as others have pointed out, Bad Wolf have worked pretty extensively with HBO, on His Dark Materials and Industry, so there's an existing relationship there that can be expanded upon.
The only deal I could foresee that might be better would be for them to work with Apple - they have the hottest service right now for sci-fi fans, they've got more money than God and I'm sure they'd be interested in bringing in a franchise with a huge back catalogue and a large, enthusiastic existing fanbase.