Digital content buffs in India are waiting with bated breath for the launch of HBO Max in India. The streaming platform has created a lot of buzz in the country, even before its entry into India. The most alluring aspect of the platform is its parent company, HBO, content colossus, and home to the most premium content in the world. Of course, HBO Max has buzzing original titles too, but HBO Originals are some of the most highly-regarded shows in India.
Until now, Disney Plus Hotstar has been home to HBO original content in India. As a result, Disney Plus Hotstar’s HBO library is varied, full-bodied and wholesome. From legacy shows such as Game Of Thrones, The Sopranos and Band Of Brothers, to latest HBO titles such as Mare Of Easttown, Euphoria and more, Disney Plus Hotstar has done a stellar job of getting the best HBO titles (& HBO Max titles, in some cases) for Indian viewers.
However, one thing that has always rankled with viewers is the fact that none of the HBO titles is available dubbed in any Indian language – no Hindi, and certainly not Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali or Marathi – the most-spoken Indian languages. Game Of Thrones is a hugely popular show in India, but only the English-speaking tribe has been able to enjoy the show in all its glory. Imagine the reach and impact of the show, if only it was available in dubbed versions in Indian languages!
Likewise with other superb HBO shows, which have all the elements to lure vernacular Indian viewers in droves. By failing to provide regional dubbed versions, Disney Plus Hotstar never really leveraged the true value of these shows in a country like India. And that is the one area that HBO Max can leverage to its massive advantage.
If HBO Max can deliver well on this most pressing issue with HBO content on Disney Plus Hotstar, it is sure to evoke interest in the ignored vernacular language viewers community in India – and the most dominant, numbers-wise. Over a few months, that interest is bound to convert into subscriptions.
The way to early success for HBO Max in India is definitely localisation of its content, in the form of subtitles in local languages, and hopefully, dubbed audio versions too. This also holds greater significance for HBO Max if it wants to compete with Netflix, the foremost streamer in India in foreign language content. Netflix is the undisputed leader in the aforementioned category too. It has local language dubs for most of its popular shows in India, namely Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and even Marathi for a few.
Let’s hope HBO Max goes the extra mile in the linguistically diverse country that is India, and provides Indian language dubbed versions of all the popular HBO shows. The Indian OTT viewers community will certainly revert in both – cash and kind!
We’re hiring!
We are hiring two full-time junior to mid-level writers with the option to work remotely. You need to work a 5-hour shift and be available to write. Interested candidates should email their sample articles to [email protected]. Applications without a sample article will not be considered.
