No More ‘Last Of Us’, ‘Succession’ In India: HBO Content To Move Away From Disney+ Hotstar On This Date

HBO Max content could be available via Prime Video, but nothing has been confirmed yet.

HBO shows, including the likes of “The Last of Us,” “Succession,” “White Lotus,” and “House Of The Dragon,” will soon move away from Disney+ Hotstar, the streamer quietly confirmed on Tuesday. So far, HBO’s OTT content was only available to Indian viewers via Disney+ Hotstar, starting at Rs 299 per month and going up to Rs 1499 for 12 months. However, that will soon be a thing of the past.

Disney+ Hotstar’s official support account (@hotstar_helps) confirmed that HBO content will be unavailable on the platform starting March 31. 

It clarified that Disney content — which includes all the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) offerings, “Star Wars” shows and movies, Pixar films, and National Geographic shows — will still be available on the platform. 

Prices of subscription plans are largely expected to remain the same. 

Hotstar made its mark as the OTT home to the Indian Premier League (IPL), back when Star India owned the streamer. In 2019, Disney closed its $71-billion acquisition of Fox, and in turn, Star, following which the platform was renamed Disney+ Hotstar. The streamer was also home to Formula 1 and other sports. 

However, owing to Disney’s stringent cost-cutting manoeuvres to cope with the post-covid bubble burst, 2023 will mark the first time that IPL or F1 won’t be a part of Disney+ Hotstar’s offerings. IPL rights have been acquired by Reliance Jio, who will stream the matches in 4K resolution on JioCinema. F1 races will only be available for streaming via the F1 TV app. 

Disney+ Hotstar boasts nearly 50 million subscribers, at the time of writing. 

Where will HBO content be available? 

There has been no word on where Indian streamers can head to access HBO content. However, owing to a deal between Amazon and HBO, users in a handful of countries can still access HBO Max via Prime Channels on the Prime Video app. 

It should be noted that HBO Max is yet unavailable in India. Given the immense popularity that HBO shows, especially the likes of “Succession” or “Game of Thrones” and “House of the Dragon”, enjoy in India on OTT, it can be expected that HBO Max could be available via Prime Video in April.