Reliance’s Viacom18 inks deal with Warner Bros, competes with Netflix

To compete against Netflix and stream Hollywood content on its platform, Reliance’s Viacom18 has collaborated with Warner Bros Discovery Inc. for its streaming platform JioCinema.

Both the Warner Bros and HBO content will be available on Reliance's JioCinema app, including popular movies and shows such as Succession, Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter series, according to a joint statement by the companies.

Shares of Network18 Media and Investments, Reliance Industries' media entity, rose as much as 13.5% after the Reuters report.

As per news source, it is a "new multi-year agreement" which will start next month. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

"HBO Original, Max Original and Warner Bros. Television series are set to premiere on JioCinema on the same day as the U.S.," the companies said.

Clement Schwebig, President for India, Southeast Asia and Korea for Warner Bros, said the agreement was part of its commitment to the South Asia market, as the company looks to further strengthen the scale of its regional business.

The media report mentioned a source who said the partnership would be exclusive and most of the content of Warner Bros will be available on the JioCinema platform. The source also added that Warner Bros cannot offer its popular titles to other Indian rivals including Amazon Prime Video and Disney Hotstar.

"It's a deep exclusive arrangement which will make JioCinema the house of Warner, HBO in India," the source said.

The content deal will bring thousands of hours of streaming content onto JioCinema, which has become popular for showing the IPL cricket tournament on the platform for free in the ongoing season.

Viacom18 won the IPL digital streaming rights from 2023 to 2027 for around $2.9 billion, rights which Disney previously held. Viacom18's shareholders include Reliance, Paramount Global as well as Bodhi Tree, which is a joint venture between James Murdoch and a former Star India executive, Uday Shankar.