No Succession and Game of Thrones as HBO signs out from Disney+ Hotstar

If you are a fan of The Last of Us or Game of Thrones, then Disney+ Hotstar may not have the best news for you.

Disney+ Hotstar subscribers in India will not be able to watch Home Box office (HBO) content on the platform after March 31. It comes just days after Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said the company would cut $5.5 billion in costs, including $3 billion in non-sports related content. It also laid off 7,000 employees.

Hotstar has been streaming HBO’s shows since January 2016. Disney Star (previously Star India) struck a deal with HBO in December 2015 for the streaming. The shows were made available for Indian customers on the same day as the US telecast.

Later, in April 2020, the service was rebranded Disney+ Hotstar.

Confirming the development, Disney+ Hostar on Tuesday tweeted: “Starting March 31, HBO content will be unavailable on Disney+ Hotstar. You can continue enjoying Disney+ Hotstar’s vast library of content spanning over 100,000 hours of television shows and movies in 10 languages and coverage of major global sporting events”.

The streaming platform had, in June last year, lost the streaming rights for the India Premier League (IPL) tournament for the 2023-2027 period.

Why is HBO content moving away from Disney+ Hotstar?

Disney+ Hotstar has been losing its paid subscribers, making it difficult to maintain margins. In the quarter that ended December 31, the platform lost 3.8 million paid subscribers. It was the biggest-ever quarterly subscriber decline.

As of December, Disney+ Hotstar’s paid member base was at 57.5 million — a 6 per cent decline from 61.3 million in the previous quarter. The service accounted for about 35.5 per cent of Disney+’s total paid subscriber base.

The platform has also lowered its paid subscriber target.

Where will HBO show its content in India after March 31?

Last year, Warner Bros had planned to launch HBO Max streaming service in India. The plan was later scrapped. According to reports, the company is now planning to introduce a global streaming service with content from HBO Max and Discovery+.

Warner Bros signed a deal with Amazon Prime Video in July to offer 11 HBO Max original series in India. Prime Video now offers The Flight Attendant, Gossip Girl reboot, Sex and the City sequel called And Just Like That…, and the sci-fi drama Raised by Wolves to its customers in India.

Warner Bros has not revealed any further plans around the service. So, the future of HBO content in India is not yet fully clear.

Which shows will not be available on Disney+ Hotstar from March 31?

Over the years, HBO has released some marquee shows that have remained popular even decades after they first aired. These include shows like The Sopranos, whose last episode aired in June 2007. Its library includes other shows like The Wire (the last episode aired in March 2008) and Game of Thrones, a show which ended in 2019.

Recently, two HBO-produced series, Succession and The Last of Us, have become very popular.