From 1 January 2026, Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery will separate: HBO series will migrate to HBO Max. Here’s what stays on Sky and what doesn’t.
Virginia Destefano
Social Media Manager & Copywriter
A boundless passion for TV series. Degree in Cinema, Television and New Media, videomaking and writing are my favorite pastime.
From today, 1 January 2026, nothing is the same as before for Sky subscribers. With the expiration of the contract between Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery, it officially ends one of the most important collaborations in the history of Italian pay TV. For decades, HBO series and Warner films have represented the heart of Sky’s offering, helping to define its identity and success. Now that heritage is moving home, with concrete consequences for the public and for the future of the platform.
End of the Sky–Warner agreement: a historic separation
The expiration of the contract between Sky and Warner Bros. Discovery marks the end of an era that began over twenty years ago. For entire generations of viewers, Sky has been the “home” of iconic titles such as I Soprano, The Wire, Game of Thrones e True Detective. Today that same catalog finds a new location on HBO Max, officially arriving in Italy on January 13th.
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However, this break does not come suddenly. It is the second step of a separation already started in recent monthsstarting from the exit of Eurosport from the Sky bouquet. HBO Max now presents itself as a direct competitor, with a recognizable and aggressive library, not surprisingly launched with the image of one of the most iconic dragons from the Game of Thrones saga.
HBO series and films: which ones disappear from Sky and which ones remain
From today, in fact, Sky can no longer broadcast new HBO series. This means highly anticipated titles like A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, The Pitt 2, Industry o Portobello by Marco Bellocchio they will no longer pass through the platform. The same goes for Italian productions linked to Warner Bros. Discovery, such as The case of Melania Rea. However, Sky retains the rights to the new seasons of some already started series. This is the case of Euphoria 3 o di House of the Dragon: the unreleased episodes arrive on Sky, but previous seasons are no longer available.
The cinema front is also changing radically. Sky Cinema loses the first window on Warner Bros. Discovery films, giving up attractive titles such as Superman, Weapons and the new chapter of The Conjuring. The films will only arrive at a later stage, when they will already have been available elsewhere for months.
In short, the real challenge for Sky now it’s about compensating for these absences. Among the most concrete hypotheses is a possible strengthening of the axis with Disney, which could redefine the cinematographic offer of the next few years without making us miss the new losses too much.
