Star India inks content deal with HBO


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Rebecca Hawkes

| 03 December 2015




21st Century Fox-owned broadcaster Star India has secured the exclusive local rights to Game of Thrones, True Detective and other HBO-produced hit TV shows.



These, along with Silicon Valley, Veep and Leftovers will all air on Star India from January 2016, rather than their current Indian home channel HBO Defined. The latter will be discontinued at the end of the year, following the end of HBO’s partnership with Eros International in April.

The new deal also includes forthcoming HBO original shows Westworld and Vinyl, directed by Martin Scorsese, which will premiere on Star India’s pay-TV network on 14 February 2016.

The shows will be first released on Star’s digital platform hotstar, as well as the broadcaster’s English language channels.

“Star will become the exclusive destination for screening HBO content in India – once again re-setting the benchmark for quality and depth of content offering for its viewers. Fans will be able to watch their favourite HBO Original programmes on hotstar on the same day as the telecast in the United States. Viewers will also be able to see the HBO Original programming on Star’s English channels,” said Uday Shankar, CEO, Star India.

HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink added: “HBO is delighted to enter this new chapter in India with Star. Through the first release of our shows on hotstar, Indian audiences will now have unprecedented flexibility in how they consume HBO's much loved premium programming.”

HBO library shows, such as Entourage, Band of Brothers, The Sopranos and Curb Your Enthusiasm are also included in the deal.

The second channel previously operated jointly between HBO and Eros International in India, the movie-oriented HBO Hits, is to be relaunched as HBO HD in the first quarter of 2016.