HBO content like The Last of Us, Game of Thrones will not be available on Disney+ Hotstar from March 31

HBO content like Game of Thrones, The Last of Us and Euphoria will leave Disney+ Hotstar by the end of March 2023. Responding to a tweet, Hotstar’s support team confirmed that HBO shows and movies will not be available from March 31. Watch on the streaming platform, which has been the prime destination for Indians to access WarnerMedia content after the company shut down HBO cable TV channels in the country in 2020. Of course, all Disney content, including Marvel and Star Wars content, will remain. On the stage.

“Starting March 31, HBO content will not be available on Disney+ Hotstar. You can continue to enjoy Disney+ Hotstar’s vast library spanning over 100,000 hours of TV shows and movies across 10 languages ​​and coverage of major global sporting events. A report last month suggested that the shake-up is in line with some of the restructuring and cost-cutting plans announced by Disney CEO Bob Iger, which included laying off 7,000 employees. The original licensing deal between the two parties was signed in late 2015 – when the platform was simply called ‘Hotstar’ – which brought HBO content to the streaming service. At the time, Game of Thrones was a huge draw, starting streaming on Hotstar in India soon after it ended in the US.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) was another major source of traffic for Disney+ Hotstar, but it suffered a major setback when Viacom18 acquired the digital streaming rights for it – for the next five years. However, the Disney star still holds the TV broadcast rights for it.

Additionally, Hotstar also did not renew the streaming rights of Formula 1 in 2023, with that content being moved to F1 TV Pro. That said, other sports content such as the Premier League, Indian Super League and select international cricket matches are still available to stream.

There were signs of some internal shake-up long before the initial reports. Generally, it is understood that all HBO shows will be available on Disney+ Hotstar in India. However, as The Last of Us was getting ready for its worldwide premiere on January 15, the company never put up any banners or ads for it, while PR and support teams were still unsure whether Is the series coming or not? India, after all. On January 16, however, to fans’ surprise, the pilot was simply dropped without any prior announcement, and has been strictly following a weekly schedule – except for episode 5, which was moved to avoid clashing with Super Bowl LVII. was brought forward for two days. events.

With the fourth and final season of Succession all set to arrive on Disney+ Hotstar on March 26, it will be interesting to see how the company handles it. They could either release Episode 1 and then shut down all HBO content, or avoid premiering the pilot altogether. Still, if you still haven’t seen the fan-favorite The Last of Us series, The White Lotus, or any other HBO show, this would be a good time, because as of now, there’s no concrete confirmation for it. . Where the HBO content will end. Industry analysts suggest that Amazon Prime Video is a good candidate, where it can be packaged with its usual content or provided as a separate subscription-based paid channel – similar to AMC+.