Disney+ Hotstar will stop streaming HBO shows starting March 31, as the streaming platform ended its partnership with HBO. It means that popular titles like Game Of Thrones, The Last Of Us, House Of Dragons, Succession, will not be available to Indian viewers from next month. This comes after Disney CEO Bob Iger announced cost-cutting and restructuring measures at the company.
The streaming platform confirmed the news on Twitter. “As of March 31, HBO content will not be available on Disney+ Hotstar. You can continue to enjoy 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.”
Hotstar sealed its deal to broadcast exclusive HBO content in India in December 2015 after the platform made its debut and Hotstar has been airing HBO original shows since January 2016. In fact, these shows, particularly ‘Game of Thrones’ , were an essential part of the streaming platform’s strategy to attract paying subscribers in India.
Last month, Disney reported that Disney+ Hotstar lost 3.8 million paying subscribers after losing the rights to broadcast the IPL tournament for the period 2023-2027 to Viacom18 in June 2022.
HBO has been airing many popular new shows and old blockbuster shows that have remained popular decades after they first aired. It is not yet clear where HBO plans to offer these shows to Indian viewers. Last year, Warner Bros Discovery had signed a license agreement with Amazon Prime Video to offer a selection of HBO Max original content in India.
Also read: Cole Sprouse talks about his breakup with Lili Reinhart