Game of Thrones, The Succession, The Last of Us – all of us have either watched or heard about these shows at some point of our life. While the massive success of OTT platforms made such great shows convenient for us to watch, it may not always be the case. The HBO’s legacy shows are soon going away from the OTT space for the Indian audience.
In an appalling development, India’s leading streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar will no longer be showing HBO shows, starting April 1. The move comes as a part of the renewal deal between HBO and Disney+ Hotstar, which went in the basket of no more HBO content for the Indian audience via the HBO. Let’s understand what all shows will now go away and what it means for HBO content in terms of the Indian audience.
HBO Leaves Disney+Hotstar: The Impact
After Disney+ Hotstar lost out on the digital streaming rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL 2023), it was naturally a big blow to the the OTT platform in many ways. However, when it comes to HBO’s content, the streaming giant has been streaming the shows since 2015 when both companies signed an exclusive pact.
In an official post, the streaming platform wrote, “Starting March 31, HBO content will be unavailable on Disney+ Hotstar. You can continue enjoying Disney+Hotstar's vast library of content spanning over 100,000 hours of TV shows and movies in 10 languages and coverage of major global sporting events.”
While the announcement may have come as a shock to many avid viewers, experts believe that it is equally a shock for Disney+ Hotstar. According to media reports, the platform that already lost a rich viewership after losing out on IPL’s streaming rights, may face some trouble in that domain now since HBO’s content also has a massive and diverse viewership.
Among the popular shows that will now not be available on Disney+ Hotstar, some include Game of Thrones, House of Dragon, The Succession, Ballers, Band of Brothers, Mind Over Murder, Obama, Scenes from a Marriage, The Last of Us, The Wire, We Own this City and many more.
Where To Watch HBO Content?
HBO leaving Disney+ Hotstar has brought a question in many heads that where can one now watch HBO content in India? Ever since the announcement, netizens too, have been at loggerheads as to what to do. From using torrents to VPN, many have brought forward all sorts of options that can help them view HBO content.
Back in August, Warner Bros Discovery confirmed that the launch of HBO Max in India was on hold and the company was simply working on expanding its user-base in existing markets, ones where HBO Max is already present.
As people search for alternate ways, all sorts of reports are also doing rounds as to where one can watch this content. A report by TechCrunch mentions that Amazon may be one place where one can view HBO content in future. It reads, “Last year, the firm signed a deal with Amazon for streaming rights of some HBO content. Amazon is one of the likely contenders to broaden a deal with Warner Bros., industry analysts say.”
However, it must be noted that till now, HBO has not officially confirmed how its content will be available in India after its exit from Disney+ Hotstar.
