Max offers mobile subscription in the PH; plans to introduce more Filipino content in the future

Max held its grand launch in the Philippines on Tuesday and Filipinos have a lot of exciting things to look forward to.

There are top movies like “Barbie,” “Dune,” and the “Harry Potter” franchise, as well as series such as “Friends,” “Game of Thrones,” and “Succession.”

Max also has a variety of original series in store for audiences such as “Dune: Prophecy,” the “Game of Thrones” and "Harry Potter: The Wizards of Baking," as well as upcoming shows like “IT: Welcome to Derry" and the "Harry Potter" series.

The platform is also home to Pinoy content like “Drag Race Philippines” and “On The Job.”

But more than that, Filipinos can look forward to eventually having more local content on Max.

In an interview with GMA News Online, James Gibbons, President for Asia-Pacific at Warner Bros. Discovery, shared that the service’s initial focus is on international content but they plan to bring in Philippine and Asian content, as well. 

“Over time, we will be introducing more and more local content including, of course, categories like Korean and Japanese dramas, but also from Southeast Asia," he said.

“It's just that we need to do things step by step because, you know, it's not practical to do everything all at the same time, so we will be putting more effort into bringing the local content over time, for sure."

According to Gibbons, a treat for streaming fans in the Philippines is the launch of the Max Mobile app to watch content on the go because Filipinos use their phones a lot.

“What's special for the fans in the Philippines is that we can serve our fans not only with content, but also how to make it easy and convenient to get the content, because what we notice in the Philippines, for example, is that there's a tremendous amount of mobile phone usage,” he said.

“We're going to launch a special mobile product that you can only watch on your mobile phone. So, this is not for the TV. Max will be Max Mobile, it will be available on the mobile device. And you can watch on the go, or you can watch even when you're at home on your device."

The Max Mobile subscription plan is more affordable than the Standard or Ultimate plan, starting at P149. Users will be able to watch films and shows exclusively on their phones or tablets. On the other hand, the Standard and Ultimate plans allows users to access Max on more devices including TVs.

Gibbons added that this is the first time they've done this in the world for Max, noting that the Mobile plan is exclusive to the Philippine and Indonesian markets.

“This is our way of trying to be locally relevant, to make it easier for the customers not only through the content," he said.

“In the future, you know, we hope to also bring some content from the Philippines into the service."

Starting today, all existing HBO Go subscriptions will automatically become Max subscriptions and users will be directed to the new streaming site.

The Mobile, Standard, and Ultimate subscription plans have prices ranging from P149 to P2,790.

— CDC, GMA Integrated News