HBO Max Spain Originals Chief Exits

HBO Max has reshaped its Spanish originals operation, with José María Caro leaving the streamer after a review.

The change marks a notable leadership shift inside Warner Bros. Discovery’s local production business in Spain, one of the key markets in Europe’s streaming fight. Reports indicate Caro and the company mutually agreed to part ways, ending his run as the executive overseeing Spanish local originals. The move follows a review and lands as media groups keep tightening strategy around which local shows they back, how they manage teams, and where they place decision-making power.

The decision does more than change one executive role; it signals a broader recalibration in how HBO Max is organizing local originals across major European markets.

Under the new structure, Caro’s team will report to Deniz Sasmaz Oflaz, who has taken on an expanded role as vice president of local originals for Spain, Italy and Turkey. That reporting line suggests HBO Max wants closer regional coordination rather than a more standalone country-by-country model. For viewers, that may sound like an internal detail. For producers and creative partners, it can shape which projects move fastest, who approves them, and how strongly local tastes compete with wider regional priorities.

The departure also lands at a time when streamers face harder questions about spending, audience growth, and the value of local-language programming. Spanish originals remain strategically important because they can travel beyond their home market while strengthening subscriber loyalty at home. But every leadership change raises uncertainty, especially for an industry that depends on steady commissioning signals. Sources suggest the immediate goal will be continuity, even as the structure above the team changes.

What happens next matters beyond one executive exit. HBO Max now needs to show that a regional model can keep Spanish originals competitive, distinctive, and attractive to both local audiences and international viewers. The next round of project decisions will offer the clearest test of whether this leadership reset is simply a personnel change or the start of a wider shift in the streamer’s content strategy.