HBO, Max Original, Warner Bros. find a new platform in JioCinema India

LOS ANGELES: Warner Bros. Discovery and Viacom18 have revealed a multi-year agreement making JioCinema India's new streaming home for HBO, Max Original and Warner Bros. content from May, reports 'Variety'.

The Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) content had previously been carried on the Disney-owned Star TV platform. But the deal with Star expired at the end of March.

WBD sources have confirmed that except for a handful of shows licensed to third parties, HBO content has been absent from Indian airwaves since the beginning of the month.

Television series will premiere on JioCinema on the same day as the U.S. The deal includes current and future seasons of HBO's 'House of The Dragon', 'The Last of Us', 'Succession' and 'The White Lotus', and returning seasons of 'Euphoria' and 'Perry Mason', among other such popular shows. Also featured as part of the agreement are HBO library titles such as 'Game of Thrones', 'Sex & The City', and 'Veep'.

Max Original series including 'And Just Like That...', 'Peacemaker' and 'The Flight Attendant', premieres such as 'Dune: The Sisterhood', 'The Batman' spinoff 'The Penguin' and 'Duster', from J.J. Abrams and LaToya Morgan, as well Warner Bros. Television series like 'East New York' and 'Gotham Knights' are also part of the deal.

Commenting on the tie-up, Ferzad Palia, Head, SVOD & International Business, Viacom18, said: "JioCinema has become the biggest platform for live sports. We are now on a mission to build the most magnetic destination for entertainment for all Indians. The strategic partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery is a big milestone in our journey to offer the best of Hollywood content to our elite consumers."

Clement Schwebig, President, India, Southeast Asia, and Korea, Warner Bros. Discovery, added: "This new agreement demonstrates our commitment to South Asia as we seek to entertain audiences across more platforms and it further strengthens the scale of our regional business as a whole."