Race for scale: HBO finds a home in India after deal with JioCinema

Does its deal with HBO mean that JioCinema is planning to go pay?

Viacom18’s JioCinema is going all guns blazing for scale. First came the “Fifa for free” in November 2022, then the audacious $3-billion bid (about Rs 24,000 crore) for the digital rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL). And now comes a deal to put all HBO content including shows such as Succession, Game of Thrones and films like Harry Potter on JioCinema.

Just before the Fifa World Cup began streaming in November 2022 “JioCinema was at 8.2 million unique visitors. With Fifa, it went to a high of 71 million before settling at 65 million in March”, says Geet Lulla,