Sky withdraws lawsuit against Warner Bros Discovery after Max streaming deal

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Sky has withdrawn a lawsuit accusing Warner Bros Discovery of repeatedly violating a co-production agreement as part of a deal under which the Max streaming service will be distributed over the UK media group’s TV platform.

On Monday, Sky said it had agreed a renewed partnership with WBD in the UK and Ireland that would allow Warner’s streaming service Max, formerly known as HBO Max, to be bundled for free to Sky customers when it launches in early 2026.

The loss of HBO content over Max — which includes hit TV shows such as Game of Thrones, The Last of Us and The White Lotus — would have been a blow for Sky.

The deal will, however, mean the end of exclusivity over HBO programming for Sky in the UK, with WBD talking to rival streaming and TV services about licensing its content. Sky has exclusively premiered and bundled HBO’s series in the UK under a deal struck in 2019.

This means that a lawsuit filed in September by Sky alleging lost revenue of hundreds of millions of dollars from being excluded from an opportunity to co-produce and distribute the series has been dropped, according to two people with knowledge of the deal. 

Sky will carry the ad-supported version of Max that will be available in more than 10mn homes in the UK.

Although no longer exclusive, the addition of HBO content forms a core part of the Sky entertainment line-up. Sky has recently secured long-term renewals of major sports rights such as the UK’s Premier League and the Bundesliga in Germany. 

Dana Strong, Sky chief executive, said that Sky was “the preferred partner of choice for streamers, rights holders and content creators alike”. 

Andrew Georgiou, head of WBD UK & Ireland, said that “arriving in early 2026, the marketwide launch of Max in the UK and Ireland is a significant step in its global rollout”. 

Georgiou said that the UK was “one of the most important global markets” for WBD. He said that the relationship with Sky was now in a “really good place” after the legal threat and a separate dispute over miscalculations by its advertising sales operation. But he added that WBD also saw a “huge opportunity” outside Sky for distributing its content via Max.