HBO Content Like The Last of Us, House of the Dragon Set to Leave Disney+ Hotstar in India: Report

HBO’s content, which includes popular shows such as House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones – and current fan favorite The Last of Us – is set to leave Disney+ Hotstar in India. The streaming service, which is India’s largest and most popular by user base, is set to end the deal with HBO to carry the TV network’s vast catalog of content in the future, according to a report. . Disney+ Hotstar also streams Disney content in India, including movies and shows from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars universe.

A report from Deadline citing local industry sources says HBO content is set to exit Disney+ Hotstar soon and appears to be in line with restructuring plans announced by recently reinstated Disney CEO Bob Iger.

HBO’s content delivery deal in India, struck with Hotstar in 2015 after the platform’s launch, is said to have contributed significantly to the platform’s growth in its early years. The HBO catalog, which at the time included streaming episodes of the popular Game of Thrones show, attracted huge subscribers and helped the platform sell premium subscriptions.

However, the Deadline report suggests that English content in India is still considered niche. Disney+ Hotstar could therefore turn to producing or licensing more local content, or focus on its sports portfolio in the future. This would naturally affect the platform’s subscriber base, which has already taken a hit following the loss of Indian Premier League streaming rights.

For many years, the popular Indian Premier League cricket tournament was broadcast on Hotstar, but that has already changed hands with Viacom18 grabbing the broadcast rights to the tournament from 2023. Disney+ Hotstar continues to stream various other sports content including English Premier League and Indian Super League. Hotstar was renamed Disney+ Hotstar in 2020 following the acquisition of Fox (the parent company of Hotstar and Star), and Disney+ content such as movies and shows from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars has since been available in streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

Citing industry analysts, the report suggests that HBO’s content could be moved to another platform in India, with Amazon Prime Video seen as the favorite to acquire streaming rights. This could be in the form of shows being added to the standard subscription catalog as part of Prime Video, or in the form of HBO Max being part of Prime Video Channels, where additional subscription fees will be charged to access content . . Prime Video has already struck a deal with Warner Brothers Discovery to stream select HBO Max original shows in India, including The Flight Attendant and Raised by Wolves.