HBO & WB Movie Channels To Go Off Air From December 15
WarnerMedia International recently announced that the popular English film channels HBO and WB will be discontinued in India and four other South Asian countries from December 15.
WarnerMedia
International
recently
announced
that
the
popular
English
film
channels
HBO
and
WB
will
be
discontinued
in
India
and
four
other
South
Asian
countries
from
December
15.
WarnerMedia
International
has
decided
to
shut
down
the
HBO
SD
and
HD
linear
movie
channels
and
WB
linear
movie
channel
in
India,
Pakistan,
Bangladesh
and
Maldive.
Instead,
the
studio
intents
to
invest
more
in
their
kids
brands
like
Cartoon
Network
and
POGO.
The
studio
reportedly
also
plans
on
increasing
its
local
animation
production
in
the
South
Asian
region.
"After
20
years
of
successes
for
the
HBO
linear
movie
channel
in
South
Asia
and
more
than
a
decade
with
the
WB
linear
movie
channel,
this
was
a
difficult
decision
to
make.
The
pay
TV
industry
landscape
and
the
market
dynamics
have
shifted
dramatically,
and
the
Covid-19
pandemic
has
accelerated
the
need
for
further
change," said
Siddharth
Jain,
senior
vice
president
and
managing
director
for
WarnerMedia's
entertainment
networks
in
South
Asia.
"WarnerMedia
has
a
strong
interest
in
India
and
are
committed
to
assessing
optimal
opportunities
to
serve
valued
customers
here," he
added.
Currently
HBO
content
has
found
home
with
Disney's
streaming
platform
Disney+
Hotstar
in
India.
However,
HBO
is
also
set
to
launch
its
own
streaming
platform,
HBO
Max
soon.
Gerhard
Zeiler,
head
of
WarnerMedia
International,
at
hinted
at
HBO
Max's
release
in
India
and
said,
"If
you
want
to
be
a
strong
global
player,
you
have
to
be
strong
in
Asia-Pacific.
In
India,
we
don't
have
the
scale
that
we
want
and
where
we
have
to
be.
In
order
to
get
there,
the
workhorse
will
be
HBO
Max."