New Delhi: Reliance’s Viacom18 and Warner Bros Discovery Inc. have reportedly struck a deal for HBO’s content to be available on their OTT platform Jio Cinema. As per a report by Reuters, the two entertainment firms have made a multi-year agreement, which is likely to start next month. This means that shows like ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Succession’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’ will now shift from Disney+ Hotstar to Jio Cinema.
The sources close to Reuters have not revealed the financial aspects of the deal, but the report stated that HBO Original, Max Original, and Warner Bros. TV series are set to stream on JioCinema and will release on the same day as in the USA.
Clement Schwebig, President for India, Southeast Asia and Korea for Warner Bros noted this deal as their commitment to the South Asian audience and a step to strengthen their business in the region.
The deal will bring Jio Cinema to par with the likes of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix as the streaming platform also holds the rights to Indian Premier League (IPL). Viacom18 got the IPL streaming rights from 2023 to 2027, which were also previously held by Disney.
Shows including ‘Succession’ streamed on Disney+ Hotstar until March 31 and are speculated to be a part of the deal.
According to the data by Media Partners Asia, Netflix had a 39 percent share in market revenue in 2021 while Disney+ Hotstar had 21 percent. This deal is likely to bring Jio Cinema as major platform for streaming films and web shows. The streaming platform may offer cheap prices while it currently works with a Jio sim and streams IPL for free.
