HBO Max set to launch in India through exclusive JioHotstar partnership

Indian streaming platform JioHotstar, owned by Reliance Industries, announced on Wednesday that it is expanding its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to bring HBO Max to India.

Under the new arrangement, HBO Max will be offered as an add-on for JioHotstar subscribers, with pricing starting at ₹49 (around $0.50) per month. The offering will include content from HBO, Max Originals, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, and DC Studios. This pricing is considerably lower than HBO Max’s standalone Basic plan in the U.S., which costs $10.99 per month.

JioHotstar indicated that the viewing experience will vary depending on a user’s existing subscription tier, suggesting that lower-cost plans may include advertising. The platform’s base offering starts at ₹79 (approximately $0.85) per month for mobile users with ads, while its premium ad-free plan is priced at ₹299 (about $3.2) per month.

India’s streaming sector has been growing rapidly, driven by affordable mobile data and increasing smartphone usage. According to a recent report by brokerage firm CLSA, total monthly active users (MAUs) in the country’s streaming market have reached around 1.45 billion. YouTube leads the market with approximately 772 million MAUs, followed by JioHotstar with around 390 million, the report noted.

Despite this growth, streaming penetration remains relatively limited beyond major urban centres. Estimates from Third Bridge suggest that usage stands at roughly 23% to 27% in Tier 2 cities and only 7% to 8% in Tier 3 towns. The consultancy also highlighted that a large portion of users access streaming services through bundled offerings rather than paying for direct subscriptions.

The HBO Max hub is expected to offer a wide range of content to Indian viewers, including upcoming releases and returning favourites. Among the titles set to arrive are the third season of Euphoria, the next chapter of House of the Dragon, DC Studios’ Lanterns, as well as a new Harry Potter series, along with additional programming.