aumnamonarayan
EntMnt Contributor
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.
Jiska darr thha wohi hua. Alvida HBo Defined, HBO Hits HBO to shut down premium channels Defined, Hits | TelevisionPost.com
“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.
Jiska darr thha wohi hua. Alvida HBo Defined, HBO Hits HBO to shut down premium channels Defined, Hits | TelevisionPost.com
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