JioCinema wins rights to stream Warner Bros, HBO Max Original content in India after major deal
Following the dissolution of the Disney+Hotstar and HBO Max partnership last month, all HBO content was removed from the platform on March 31. Since then, fans of popular HBO shows such as Game of Thrones, Succession, Lord of the Rings, and The Last of Us have been eagerly awaiting the legal re-release of these shows.
According to recent media rumours, Reliance’s Viacom18 and Warner Bros Discovery have announced a new partnership under which JioCinema India will become the new streaming home for HBO, Max Original, and Warner Bros programming.
As per a report in a media publication Reuters, another significant change that will occur as a result of this agreement is that Warner Bros will no longer be able to provide most of its popular titles to other streaming giants such as Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and Disney+Hotstar.
The Viacom18 and Warner Bros deal would allow HBO material as well as Warner Bros shows to be available on JioCinema on the same day.
“It’s a deep exclusive arrangement which will make JioCinema the house of Warner, HBO in India,” said one of the sources quoted by Reuters.
“HBO Original, Max Original and Warner Bros. Television series are set to premiere on JioCinema on the same day as the US,” the companies said in a statement.
JioCinema is aggressively targeting a large share of India’s OTT market. Disney recently lost the internet streaming rights to the IPL to Viacom18, ending its five-year monopoly on IPL rights. Jio Cinema will also release up to 100 films and web shows over the next 18-24 months.