Warner Media on Thursday, October 15 has announced that it will discontinue its linear movie channel HBO in India including HBO SD, HD. It will also pull the plug on the WB movie channel in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives with the effect from 15 December. The Warner Media Group is shifting its focus on the kids segment with Cartoon Network and Pogo channels in the South Asia region. The company is aiming in increasing the local animation production.
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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. The need for the change has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in the dramatic shift in the pay-TV industry landscape and market dynamics said the MD. He said he 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. He added the WarnerMedia will continue running the Cartoon Network and Pogo in South Asia. The media will retain the employees based in Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru to handle its kids' channel operations, sales, and marketing, and also the distribution of CNN International.
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However, 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. He added to be strong in Asia-Pacific is to ensure them as a strong global player. HBO will still prevail in India through Disney + Hotstar.
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