HBO to shut down premium channels Defined, HBO Hits
MUMBAI: Three years after announcing plans to launch two ad-free premium movie channels, HBO Defined and HBO Hits, the broadcaster has decided to pull the plug on them. “By the first quarter of 2016, both these channels will be off the air. With this, HBO is back to where it started with one ad-supported channel,” an industry source told Televisionpost.com.
HBO had been negotiating a distribution deal with Star India, which fell through. It has been learnt that Star’s main interest was in HBO Defined, which is a more refined offering of the two channels and focuses on content like ‘Game of Thrones’. “The potential deal with Star was taken off a couple of months back. After that, HBO’s management concluded that if it was not commercially viable, then there was no point in continuing with the channels,” added the source. HBO Hits, on the other hand, focuses on more mainstream cinema. The reach of the HBO ad-free channels was less than half a million homes. Surely, content costs would have been a big reason for the decision. In the current environment, it is impossible to run a service without taking any ads at all. “Buying movies is expensive. It is hard to justify an ad-free service in this scenario,” explained the source. The two channels are carried by the three major DTH operators—Tata Sky, Dish TV and Airtel Digital TV. It is also available on some digital cable TV networks. Upon launch, HBO inked a deal with Eros for the two premium channels. There was a 50:50 revenue-sharing arrangement after deducting operation costs. The revenue share with operators was similar. The deal with Eros ended sometime ago. In April 2013, Monica Tata joined HBO as MD South Asia. A veteran of the company, Shruti Bajpai, who oversaw the growth of HBO over the years, left the organisation subsequently. Tata left the company earlier this year. One of the reasons is said to have been the discussions with Star, which meant that Tata would not have had anything to do had the deal gone through. The question now is: Where does HBO go from here now? When Bajpai strengthened HBO’s position, there were fewer players. Subsequently, however, with the launch of more channels such as Sony Pix and Movies Now, the game became more convoluted. While HBO has maintained a strong brand perception over the years, it remains in fourth position, sometimes moving up to third. The challenge will be to recreate its position and get back at the top. WB is in the second rung of channels. That channel operates on Warner Bros library. As a footnote, these are not the only English channels that ceased operations. Earlier this year, Star shut down Fox Crime and subsequently launched Star Movies Select.
Source :
TelevisionPost
