HBO Original, Max Original and Warner Bros. Television collection are set to premiere on JioCinema on the identical day because the US.
The deal between Reliance’s Viacom18 would see Warner Bros in addition to its HBO content material changing into obtainable on Reliance’s JioCinema app, together with Succession, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter collection
The broadcast enterprise of India’s Reliance has struck a cope with Warner Bros Discovery Inc for its streaming platform JioCinema, making a giant push to carry Hollywood content material onto the platform and compete in opposition to Netflix and Amazon.
The deal between Reliance’s Viacom18 would see Warner Bros in addition to its HBO content material changing into obtainable on Reliance’s JioCinema app, together with well-liked motion pictures and reveals corresponding to Succession, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter collection, based on a joint assertion by the businesses.
Reuters reported the deal earlier on Thursday primarily based on sources with direct information of the deal.
The sources didn’t disclose the financials of the deal, however the assertion described the content material partnership as a “new multi-year settlement” which will start next month.
“HBO Original, Max Original and Warner Bros. Television series are set to premiere on JioCinema on the same day as the U.S.,” the businesses stated.
Clement Schwebig, President for India, Southeast Asia and Korea for Warner Bros stated the settlement was a part of its dedication to the South Asia market, because it appears to additional strengthen the dimensions of its regional enterprise.
One supply advised Reuters that the partnership could be unique and see most of Warner’s marquee content material on the JioCinema platform. Warner can not supply most of its well-liked titles to different Indian rivals together with Amazon Prime Video and Disney Hotstar, the supply added.
“It’s a deep unique association which is able to make JioCinema the home of Warner, HBO in India,” the source said.
The content deal will bring thousands of hours of streaming content onto JioCinema, which has become popular for showing the IPL cricket tournament on the platform for free in the ongoing season.
Viacom18 won the IPL digital streaming rights from 2023 to 2027 for around $2.9 billion, rights which Disney previously held. Viacom18’s shareholders include Reliance, Paramount Global (PARA.O) as well as Bodhi Tree, which is a a joint venture between James Murdoch and a former Star India executive, Uday Shankar.
Bodhi Tree recently invested $528 million in Viacom18.
Several of HBO’s top-rated shows, including Succession, which had aired in India on the Disney Hotstar platform until March 31 as part of a deal between the two companies that ended on the date.
The source told Reuters that Warner so far had various arrangements with Indian streaming giants, but the Viacom-Warner deal will see the consolidation of that library and will include HBO, Max and Warner content, among others.
JioCinema is seeking to compete with rivals including Netflix and Amazon in a market where such platforms are becoming increasingly popular, thanks to cheap data prices.
But JioCinema is a small player. Netflix outperforms rivals in the subscription video-on-demand market, commanding a 39 per cent share by revenue in 2021 compared to nearest rival Hotstar’s 23 per cent, according to Media Partners Asia.
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