WarnerMedia International has announced that it will be pulling off its movie channels in India, Pakistan, Maldives and Bangladesh from 15 December 2020. The channel line-up includes HBO (SD and HD) and WB.
The group will continue to operate and invest more in its kids brands Cartoon Network and Pogo in the South Asia region, including increasing local animation production.
Siddharth Jain, SVP and MD, Warner Media South Asia, said, “After 20 years of successes for the HBO linear movie channel in South Asia and more than a decade with the WB linear movie channel, this was a difficult decision to make,” Siddharth Jain, SVP and MD, Warner Media South Asia, said. “The pay-TV industry landscape and the market dynamics have shifted dramatically, and the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for further change.”
WarnerMedia will retain employees based in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru to handle its kids channel operations, sales and marketing, and also the distribution of CNN International, stated the network in its statement.
Warner’s decision to close the linear channel in India comes at a time of speculation that another Hollywood studio, Disney will scale back its production operations in the country through the possible closure of Fox Star Studios.
