NEW YORK CITY, New York: At the end of 2021, HBO Max and HBO reported a combined 73.8 million subscribers worldwide, outpacing its predicted 70 to 73 million.

WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said the service is now available in 46 countries after launching globally last June, calling 2021, “the year that HBO Max broke through,” as reported by Deadline.

Asked about the split between U.S. and non-U.S. subscribers, Kilar stressed that AT&T planned to announce those figures when it releases fourth-quarter earnings later this month.

WarnerMedia parent-company AT&T released these figures ahead of an appearance by CEO John Stankey at a Citibank investment conference.

HBO Max, which was launched in May 2020 and can be accessed for free by paying HBO customers, began rolling out globally last year and also introduced a lower-priced, ad-supported tier. After initial branding confusion due to the existence of other HBO-branded streaming apps, HBO Max coupled distribution with Roku and a new agreement with Amazon, enabling it to become available on two major U.S. gateways.

HBO Max is still unable to enter key markets in the UK, Italy and Germany due to prior distribution agreements with Sky. Asked about whether WarnerMedia would try to renegotiate the Sky agreements, which expire in 2024, Kilar said, “We are always talking with our partners.”

Once WarnerMedia merges with Discovery and separates from AT&T, HBO Max is expected to be even more internationally focused, pending approval from regulators later this year.

The streaming service attracted new subscribers due to offering same-day film releases from Warner Bros, most notably the fourth-quarter releases of Dune and the fourth Matrix film.

Asked about this strategy, Kilar said the plan is to adopt a “film-specific” release strategy, with certain films going to theaters and streaming simultaneously and others in an exclusive theatrical window.