Indian streaming service JioHotstar, owned by Reliance Industries Group, 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 (approx. $0.50) per month and will include content from HBO, Max Originals, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios. Pricing is significantly lower than HBO Max’s standalone Basic tier in the US, which costs $10.99 per month.
JioHotstar confirmed to TechCrunch that users’ existing subscription plans will affect the experience, indicating that lower-priced plans may include ads. The streaming service starts at ₹79 (approx. $0.85) per month for mobile users with ads and goes up to ₹299 (approx. $3.2) per month for an ad-free premium plan.
India’s streaming market has expanded rapidly, with total monthly active users (MAUs) reaching around 1.45 billion, thanks to affordable mobile data plans and growing smartphone adoption, according to recent report from CLSA brokerage firm. YouTube led the market with 772 million MAUs and JioHotstar came second with around 390 million MAUs, according to the report.
However, penetration of streaming services remains relatively low outside of major cities, with usage around 23% to 27% in Tier 2 markets and 7% to 8% in Tier 3 cities, according to recent Third Bridge estimates. The consultancy, which gathers information from industry executives, said most users access streaming services through bundled deals rather than outright 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.
