Following the launch of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Max streaming service across Latin America during Q1 2024, replacing HBO Max, the service saw a notable jump in subscribers. According to Ampere Analysis, while the overall region saw growth of 2.8m subscribers year-over-year (13%) in Q2 2024, one country in particular has emerged as a key market for Max, Brazil, which gained 1.2m subscribers (22%), by far the largest gain of any LatAm country.
Within Brazil, the rollout helped push Max past global giant Amazon Prime Video and local powerhouse Globoplay to become the third largest streamer in the country. It’s a significant milestone for Max as it inches closer to Disney+, which saw little subscriber growth year-over-year in the wake of merging the Star+ library into its service across LatAm in Q2 2024.
A notable development has been its partnership with Brazilian online banking service, Nubank. As other markets see a surge in streamers bundling with pay TV and mobile telephony operators, Max has taken a different approach in Brazil by bundling a full year of the “basic with ads” tier for free with Nubank’s new subscription service, Nubank+.
As the largest online banking platform in the world (outside of Asia), Nubank offers a significant opportunity for Max to reach new customers. The platform has upwards of 92m users in Brazil, and earlier this year launched its Nubank+ offering with Max bundled from the start. The Nubank+ service is free for any Nubank customer spending over BRL3,500 ($614) on its credit card; otherwise, customers can pay BRL29 ($5)/month for the perks, a small discount from Max’s current ‘basic with ads’ price of BRL30 ($6.10)/month.
The Nubank+ offering is in contrast to the more conventional strategy streamers (including Max) have taken in other markets, by bundling with legacy leaders in media. Such bundles are in some cases a survival tactic for pay TV operators losing customers, and it remains unclear if there has been value in the bundles for either streamers or pay TV operators. On the other hand, Nubank+ has the potential to reach millions of Brazilians, and it’s no coincidence that Max saw significant growth in Brazil the same quarter Nubank+ was launched. The next goal for Max, however, will be hanging on to those free subscribers in a year’s time.