Upset over HBO divorcing Disney, Indians scramble to find ways to watch Succession’s final season

Acclaimed comedy-drama 'Succession' is ending with season 4.

Succession, one of the most-watched HBO shows in India, will soon be releasing its final season in India. But Indian viewers are upset over missing the show due to HBO pulling out its content from Disney+Hotstar.

Viewers in India are constantly checking news sites and social media for updates on Succession's release in India. The first episode of the final season 4 of the series will air on March 26. However, viewers in India are unsure if they will get to watch the show on Disney+Hotstar, which played HBO titles.

"I have watched the previous seasons the moment it was out at 7:30-8 AM in the morning. I am a big fan of the show. But I am not sure where to catch the new season as Disney+Hotstar won't be airing HBO content from March 31. Succession has the same following as Game of Thrones," said 35-year-old Mumbai resident, Neha Khanna.

Succession has 11.2 times the average demand for TV dramas in India, according to an estimation by entertainment analysis firm Parrot Analytics.

While there is speculation that HBO content may be available on Amazon Prime Video, which has hosted HBO titles earlier on its platform, or on Netflix, the company has not yet made any official announcement. Asked how Indian viewers could watch the final season of Succession, Warner Bros, the owner of HBO, said it is not commenting on the matter.

Viewers upset

"If a viewer follows a particular series on a particular platform there is some loyalty towards the platform. Today, if you tell consumers that their favourite content is going to another platform, they find it difficult to be loyal to a series or platform. There are too many options in the streaming space and that creates confusion," said 34-year-old Nilesh Wadhwa. "For me, Succession and sports were the reason to sign up to Disney+Hotstar. I am not sure if I want to continue with the platform and have already opted out of its subscription."

For Ashad Hussain, 29, a PR professional, the lack of HBO content is a mood dampener as he renewed his subscription this year to catch up on the new season of Succession. "HBO has a lot of series like GoT and I downloaded Hotstar back in 2020 as the platform was coming up with the final season of GoT. So, I had taken a subscription for a year and continued with it. Me and many of my friends have Hotstar due to HBO content," he said.

Khanna said she subscribed to the platform to watch HBO titles, more so because "Disney+Hotstar streamed HBO content the same time as it did globally."

Wadhwa said that Succession gained popularity in India due to strong word-of-mouth spread and not because of any marketing. "Also, a series like Succession was doing well across India. Many viewers from these markets were getting hooked to international shows from HBO. But then the shift of content will create a vacuum. Sometimes I feel Indian consumers are not a priority for international platforms."

People have an emotional connect with HBO shows, said producer Santosh Kher, Founder of Creative Viibe productions. "At the time of renewal these factors will come into play. Customer loyalty will see some initial impact."

Piracy threat

Even the video streaming space will see some impact in terms of viewership. Many websites have already posted articles on how viewers in India can watch the new episode of Succession through VPN or by downloading a pirated version of the episodes.

"For a show of Succession’s stature, fans are likely to use different sites to download and view its episodes. This is likely to give mileage to illegal downloads and add fuel to the fire that is piracy as the options are readily accessible to people given the internet is cheap in India," said Shahrukh Rashid Ali Khan, Account Manager, White Rivers Media, a marketing agency.

Over-the-top platforms in India are already losing 25-30 percent of their revenues to piracy, according to a report by data research and analytics firm Ampere. It is estimated that movie and TV piracy in India resulted in a revenue loss of $2.3 billion in the past year.

Popular shows such as Scam 1992 and Rocket Boys on SonyLIV and Aashram on MX Player were made available on rogue websites within hours of their launch. In fact, MX Player expected 20 percent more viewership for Aashram if the show had been watched on the platform.

"The phaseout of HBO shows from Hotstar might leave a few subscribers puzzled about where to go next for the content they got hooked on over time. We may even expect a rise in global piracy if we go by the data available at present," said Mitesh Kothari, Co-founder, White Rivers Media.

Niche audience

But, he added that HBO viewers are only one of many segments of Disney+Hotstar’s subscriber base.

Utkarsh Sinha from Bexley Advisors said that HBO was asking for $10 million a year for its content, which Hotstar found too dear. He said there weren’t enough viewers of HBO content to justify the per-unit cost.

"Hotstar had some of the most compelling premium US content, arguably a steal for Indian consumers. The outcome of this is going to be either that HBO goes solo in India and further fragments the consumer OTT wallet, or that another OTT major ponies up HBO’s asking price and ends up enriching their content offering," Sinha added.