JioHotstar, the Indian streaming service owned by conglomerate Reliance Industries, announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to offer HBO Max in India.
HBO Max will be available to JioHotstar subscribers as an add-on starting at 49 ₹49 (approximately $0.50) per month and will feature content from HBO, Max Originals, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Studios. This pricing is significantly lower than HBO Max’s standalone basic tier in the US ($10.99 per month).
JioHotstar acknowledged to TechCrunch that a user’s existing subscription plan will affect the experience, hinting that lower priced plans may include ads. The streaming service starts at ₹79 (about $0.85) per month with ads for mobile users and goes up to ₹299 (about $3.2) per month for an ad-free premium plan.
India’s streaming market is rapidly expanding, with total monthly active users (MAUs) reaching around 1.45 billion, driven by affordable mobile data plans and increasing smartphone penetration, according to a recent report by brokerage CLSA. According to the report, YouTube led the market with 772 million MAU, while JioHotstar came in second with around 390 million MAU.
Still, penetration of streaming services outside major cities remains relatively low, with recent estimates from Third Bridge pegging usage rates at around 23-27% in tier-2 markets and 7-8% in tier-3 cities. The consultancy, which compiled insights from industry executives, said most users access streaming services through bundled services rather than direct subscriptions.
The HBO Max hub will bring a mix of new and existing titles to Indian audiences, including the third season of Euphoria, the next installment of House of the Dragon, DC Studios’ Lantern, and the upcoming Harry Potter series.
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