Warner Bros Discovery halts its plans to launch HBO Max India

Warner Bros Discovery was planning to launch its subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, HBO Max in the Indian market soon. However, as reported by Economic Times, the company has put the plans on hold. This move reportedly comes after the company decided to go ahead with cost-cutting measures worldwide.

For the unversed, the company already has its Discovery+ streaming platform in India.

Saugata Mukherjee, who was appointed as Head of Content for HBO Max India, has now resigned from his position. Mukherjee took up this role in 2021 only. It further added that the HBO Max India team is likely to be absorbed within the Warner Bros Discovery system.

As per the official statement by a senior executive of the company to Economic Times, “There is no clarity on what Warner Bros Discovery is planning around HBO Max in India. Earlier, the plan was to launch in 1-2 years and the content team had started working on some great projects. Now they are not even sure if they will launch a service in India. All we were told is that it will not launch till the end of 2024. In a fast-changing OTT world, two years is a very long time.”

For the unversed, it was recently Warner Bros Discovery laid off nearly 70 workers, or 14 percent of its workforce, at HBO and HBO Max streaming service. The staff is being fired under HBO and HBO Max chief content officer Casey Bloys, impacting 70 employees, reports The New York Times.

“Unscripted and live-action family programming for HBO Max, the streaming service, were most affected,” the report said late on Monday.

Other cuts impacted HBO Max’s casting, acquisitions and international departments. The latest round of layoffs come after AT&T’s WarnerMedia officially merged with Discovery, Inc. in April. The deal saw AT&T receive $43 billion in a combination of cash debt securities and debt retention.

The post Warner Bros Discovery halts its plans to launch HBO Max India appeared first on BGR India.