Canal+ and Warner Bros. Discovery enters new international agreement

Canal+ and Warner Bros. Discovery have signed a new multi-year, multi-territorial agreement to strengthen their partnership internationally, including the expansion of HBO Max to two more countries.

The pact, which a press release called an “important milestone” in the collaboration between the companies, will see HBO Max distribution via Canal+ renewed in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania, and expanded to Belgium and Austria. The 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 twelve WBD theme 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 on previous deals signed in 2024, including the extension of the exclusive pay-TV window for Warner Bros. films. Pictures six months after their theatrical release in France and the integration of HBO Max within selected offers of the Canal+ group.

It also comes amid Netflix’s impending purchase of WBD, which could further position Canal+ as a power player on the global stage as the company has already signed distribution deals with Netflix. On December 16, Netflix boss Ted Sarandos made a surprise appearance at the Canal+ Group showcase in Paris and reassured the audience about his plans to purchase WBD.

“Our intentions when we buy Warner Bros. will be to continue to release Warner Bros. studio films in theaters with traditional storefronts,” Sarandos said during a call with Canal+ chairman and CEO Maxime Saada. “Then those films would fall through Canal+’s output deal. That is very exciting for us.”