WBD’s CEE chief talks split, expansion of HBO Max

Warner Bros Discovery’s CEE and MENA chief Jamie Cooke has played down the company’s upcoming split of its streaming and global networks, as it prepares for a third wave of roll-outs for streamer HBO Max.

WBD confirmed on Monday it would be creating two divisions for its business - Streaming & Studios and Global Networks – with the move potentially impacting the CEE region in particular, where pay TV remains strong in many markets.

Jamie Cooke, WBD’s group senior vice president and GM of CEE and MENA, told Broadcast International at NEM Dubrovnik that the impact of the decision would take time to shake out.

“That process of the split has only just been announced, so it’s going to take nine, 12 months or so before there’s clarity on how it will all work.

“So we don’t really know to be honest at this point, but I’m not too worried about that - 12 months is a long time in media, right.

”The company needs to figure out how it is going to handle some of those choices [around the use of linear networks and streaming to fuel growth] and there are many different models that could be looked at.”

The focus at present is on partnerships and deploying a country-by-country approach to markets, Cooke said, adding that local scripted productions in most CEE countries - aside from Poland - did not make commercial sense but that scripted originals in Turkey are on the cards.

“It’s interesting, I’ve been in this role for three and a bit years since the merger [between Warner and Discovery] and one of the first things that happened - before I’d really got my feet under the table - was that there was the decision to close the HBO Europe local production unit.

“At the time that caused a lot of anger, understandably, and a lot of question marks, people asking what we were doing.

“The truth of it is that when we think about content investment, it’s firstly got to do something really specific in a market and the problem with that is it really needs to be a scale market to justify the expense, looking at it from a profitability point of view. And the second thing we always look at is a show’s ability to travel.

“The reality is that the content that we did create here was great, but it didn’t travel and it wasn’t profitable in the markets,” Cooke said, adding that the decision was “probably” correct because the shows “didn’t do the things they were supposed to do.”

‘All in’ on Turkish originals

Cooke was quick to point out that unscripted shows including documentaries and docuseries would still be produced in CEE, highlighting examples such as Emma & Eddie, a Hungarian doc about a webcam couple in the adult entertainment industry.

But he also highlighted a different approach is being taken in Turkey, with numerous originals in the works, including upcoming series The Graft.

“It’s not that we don’t want to invest, we just have to be smart and I think that’s why you’ll see the investment in Turkey a little bit differently, where we are going all in on local productions.

“We know the market has scale and local content is so important in Turkey,” he said, adding that the company is looking for shows that travel.

Coproductions with local partners may well be sought, Cooke continued, adding that the company would consider sharing rights with networks in the country.

“The cost of production in Turkey is going through the roof, so it’s in everyone’s interests to figure out a way to do things together.

“That could be a rights split that we look to do with a local Turkish player, that’s the kind of thing that we’re thinking about.”

Cooke also oversees HBO Max in MENA, where the company recently invested almost $60m for a 30% minority in OSN.

He said the deal’s potential would allow it to explore original programming, “because you’re essentially saying again, it’s a very crowded marketplace so who can we partner with from a consumer point of view so we don’t just make more clutter for the consumer.”

HBO Max’s third wave

In a later discussion on stage here in Dubrovnik, Cooke added that a large part of his role was about “interpeting” decisions from LA and translating them into decisions for his local markets.

“When you work for an American company, a lot of the decision making and influence comes from the States and from LA particularly. I think a lot of my job is actually interpreting and flexing to the nuances and variances of different countries.”

His comments come as WBD prepares for a third wave of launches for HBO Max, which Broadcast International can reveal will become available in Albania, Armenia, Cyprus, Estonia, Georgia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, and Tajikistan from July.

The latest roll-out forms part of WBD’s strategy to surpass 150 million subscribers globally by the end of 2026, with the UK, Italy and Germany set to follow early next year.

Shows to become available include A Minecraft Movie, the Harry Potter movies, The Last of Us, The White Lotus, The Pitt, Peacemaker, and future series such as Task, and IT: Welcome to Derry.

JB Perrette, chief exec and president of global streaming & games at WBD, said the launches “further position HBO Max as a worldwide destination for the best in entertainment.”

HBO Max ended Q1 2025 with 122.3 million subscribers, with recent launches in Australia and Turkey.