Viacom18 and Warner Bros Discovery have announced their multi-year agreement to bring HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros content to JioCinema. JioCinema will get the said content starting from May 1. Previously, these content were available on Disney-owned Hotstar but their contract expired at the end of March.
The deal includes current and future seasons of HBO’s exclusive series including House of The Dragon, The Last of Us, Succession, and The White Lotus. The company confirmed that JioCinema will stream TV series from HBO Original, Max Original and Warner Bros on the same day as in the US.
Clement Schwebig, president, India, Southeast Asia, and Korea, Warner Bros. Discovery, said: “Warner Bros. Discovery’s brands are incredibly popular across India and we are pleased to partner with Viacom18 to bring our premium HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros. content to local fans. This new agreement demonstrates our commitment to South Asia as we seek to entertain audiences across more platforms, and further strengthens the scale of our regional business as a whole.”
This deal is a big milestone for Mukesh Ambani who is eying to get major pie of India’s streaming market. His company Reliance Industries Limited is behind JioCinema and Viacom18.
This deal is the big blow to Hotstar since it lost HBO shows in India after their contract ended on March 31, 2023. Horstar also lost IPL streaming rights to JioCinema. With IPL streaming, JioCinema has already got a big exposure among Indian users.
JioCinema currently aggregates content from several platforms such as AltBalaji, Eros Now, Paramount, Shemaroo Entertainment and Viacom18. It offers ad-supported operation but recent reports suggest that the platform will start charging subscription fees later this year.
