Canal+ and Warner Bros. Discovery have signed a new multi-year, multi-territory agreement to strengthen their partnership internationally, including the expansion of HBO Max to two more countries.
Through the pact, which a press release calls a “major milestone” in the companies’ collaboration, distribution of HBO Max via Canal+ will be renewed in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania, and will expand to Belgium and Austria. Distribution of Cartoon Network, Cartoonito and CNN International in Romania, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia will also be renewed, as will Warner TV in the Czech Republic.
Across MultiChoice Group territories in Africa, distribution of 12 WBD thematic channels will be renewed, 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.
The agreement between WBD and the French media group builds upon previous deals made in 2024, including the renewal of the exclusive pay-TV window for Warner Bros. Pictures films six months after their theatrical release in France and the integration of HBO Max within select Canal+ group offers.
It also comes during Netflix’s pending purchase of WBD, which could further position Canal+ as a power player on the global stage as the company already has distribution deals in place with Netflix. On Dec. 16, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos made a surprise appearance at Canal+ Group’s Paris showcase and reassured the audience of his plans in purchasing WBD.
“Our intentions when we buy Warner Bros. will be to continue to release Warner Bros. studio movies in theaters with the traditional windows,” Sarandos said during a conversation with Canal+ chair and CEO Maxime Saada. “Then those movies would flow through the Canal+ output deal. That’s very exciting for us.”
