Indian streaming service JioHotstar, owned by conglomerate Reliance Industries, has announced a significant expansion of its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to bring HBO Max to the country.
HBO Max will be available as an add-on for JioHotstar subscribers starting at ₹49 (about £0.50) per month. This price is significantly lower than HBO Max’s stand-alone Basic tier in the U.S., which costs $10.99 per month. The streaming service currently starts at ₹79 (about £0.85) for a mobile plan with ads, going up to ₹299 (about £3.2) for an ad-free premium plan.
The Indian streaming market has seen rapid expansion, reaching around 1.45 billion monthly active users thanks to affordable mobile data plans and rising smartphone adoption, according to recent reports from brokerage firm CLSA. However, penetration of streaming services remains relatively low outside major cities, with usage at about 23% to 27% in Tier 2 markets and 7% to 8% in Tier 3 towns.
Despite the potential for growth, the availability of HBO Max through JioHotstar could lead to a mix of new and existing titles being introduced to Indian audiences. These include the third season of Euphoria, the next installment of House of the Dragon, DC Studios’ Lanterns, an upcoming Harry Potter series, among others.
