Warner Bros Discovery (WBD)'s streaming service Max, formerly HBO Max, is set to go live in Hong Kong and other Asian markets on Tuesday, as the US entertainment and media giant battles with Netflix and local rivals in a crowded market.

Max will launch in Hong Kong, Taiwan and several southeast Asian countries, giving viewers access to "significantly better, richer content offering", including popular franchises like Harry Potter and the DC Universe, said JB Perrette, WBD's CEO and president of global streaming and games.

"The reality is Asia-Pacific is such a huge and important region, and while it was great to launch in North America, in South America, in Europe, we can't really call ourselves a global product until we're in Asia," Perrette said in an interview last week.

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WBD is gunning for the top-three position in its new Asian markets in terms of scale, engagement and profitability, the executive said.

DC Universe content, such as Wonder Woman, will be available through Max. Photo: Handout alt=DC Universe content, such as Wonder Woman, will be available through Max. Photo: Handout>

In Hong Kong, US giant Netflix, local broadcaster ViuTV, and Google's YouTube Premium were the three most popular on-demand video platforms as of June, according to Rakuten Insights data cited by Statista. Disney+, Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video are also available in the city.

"We understand it's 2024 and other services have been in the market a while," Perrette said. "We are working with all sorts of partners to try and make sure that we scale and get the product in people's hands as fast as possible."

As a start, WBD said it will convert all HBO Go subscriptions into Max subscriptions on the day of launch. The company had been offering some HBO content in the region through HBO Go, distributed in Hong Kong by telecommunications firm PCCW.

Max, available as an individual app, will provide improved streaming quality, search capabilities and personalisation, Perrette said.

Hong Kong subscribers will have access to the same content available in other markets, in addition to a limited amount of original local content, he said.

Some Western streaming platforms have removed certain content from Hong Kong after Beijing imposed a national security law in the city in 2020, banning acts of succession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. Disney+, for example, pulled an episode of The Simpsons that mentions "forced labour camps" along with images of China's Great Wall.