HBO, WB movie channels to get discontinued in India from 15 December, WarnerMedia announces

WarnerMedia will discontinue HBO in India and Pakistan. It will also pull the plug on the WB movie channel in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives from 15 December. According to a report in Variety, Siddharth Jain, SVP and MD, Warner Media South Asia, said that it was a difficult decision to make after 20 years of successfully running the HBO linear movie channel in South Asia and more than 10 years running the WB linear movie channel. Jain added that the pay-TV industry landscape and market dynamics have seen a dramatic shift and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for further change. He went on to say that they would like to express their heartfelt appreciation for all partners and fans, adding that they owe a debt of gratitude to their employees who have worked on the popular brands. The report adds that WarnerMedia will continue running the Cartoon Network and Pogo in South Asia. It will, however, retain employees based in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru to handle its kids’ channel operations, sales, and marketing, and also the distribution of CNN International. As per a report in Live Mint, Gerhard Zeiler, head of international, WarnerMedia during the APOS Summit 2020 had hinted that HBO Max, its video streaming service launched in the United States this May, may be brought to India soon. Zeiler had stated that in order to be a strong global player they have to be strong in Asia-Pacific. Admitting that they do not have that scale in India, he had spoken of bringing HBO Max to the country.