# HBO Max to launch in Japan through Prime Video and Hulu

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/hbo-max-launches-in-japan-via-prime-video-and-hulu-partnership/
- Published: 2026-08-31T20:09:26+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-01T02:14:35+00:00
- Topics: Art, Asia, Business, Companies, Culture, Entertainment, Research, Science, TV, World

## Key points

- HBO Max launches in Japan on 1 October via Prime Video and Hulu hubs
- Ends exclusive reliance on local platform U-Next for HBO content
- Hulu Japan and Nippon TV may distribute local content on HBO Max abroad

## Summary

Warner Bros Discovery has confirmed that HBO Max will launch in Japan on 1 October, not as a standalone app but as dedicated hubs embedded within Amazon's Prime Video and Hulu Japan. The move significantly widens access to WBD's content in the territory, which had previously been available only through a licensing arrangement with local platform U-Next, and reflects the company's strategy of piggybacking on established local services to build its international footprint ahead of a keenly anticipated new Harry Potter series.

Subscribers will get access to titles including House of the Dragon, The Pitt, The Penguin, Peacemaker, The Last of Us, The White Lotus, Euphoria and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, alongside films such as Barbie and One Battle After Another. Hulu Japan, a separate entity from the Disney-owned Hulu and instead owned by Nippon Television, will also explore distributing its own and Nippon TV's local content on HBO Max internationally. WBD's APAC president James Gibbons said the partnerships build on strong engagement since HBO Max's initial Japan launch, particularly ahead of the new Harry Potter series.

## Coverage

- [Variety: ‘Harry Potter’ Series, ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘The White Lotus’ on the Slate as HBO Max Sets October Launch on Prime Video, Hulu Japan](https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/hbo-max-prime-video-hulu-japan-1236847393/)
- [Deadline: HBO Max To Launch In Japan As Hub Within Prime Video & Hulu](https://deadline.com/2026/08/hbo-max-launch-japan-amazon-hulu-1237063387/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.