Indian streaming service JioHotstar, owned by conglomerate Reliance Industries, said on Wednesday that it is expanding its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to bring HBO Max to India.
HBO Max will be available to JioHotstar subscribers as an add-on starting at ₹49 (about $0.50) per month and would feature content from HBO, Max Originals, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Studios. The pricing is significantly lower than HBO Max’s stand-alone Basic tier in the U.S., which costs $10.99 per month.
JioHotstar confirmed to TechCrunch that users’ existing subscription plans would affect the experience, indicating that lower-priced plans may include advertising. The streaming service starts at ₹79 (about $0.85) per month for mobile users with ads and goes up to ₹299 (about $3.2) per month for an ad-free premium plan.
India’s streaming market has expanded rapidly, with total monthly active users (MAUs) reaching about 1.45 billion, thanks to affordable mobile data plans and rising smartphone adoption, according to a recent report by brokerage firm CLSA. YouTube led the market with 772 million MAUs, and JioHotstar came in second with about 390 million MAUs, the report said.
Still, penetration of streaming services remains relatively low outside of major cities, with usage at about 23% to 27% in Tier 2 markets and 7% to 8% in Tier 3 towns, according to recent estimates from Third Bridge. The consultancy, which compiles insights from industry executives, said most users access streaming services through bundled offerings 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’ “Lanterns,” an upcoming Harry Potter series, and more.
