On Wednesday, JioHotstar — India’s top streaming service owned by domestic conglomerate Reliance Industries — announced it is expanding its long-running partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to officially bring HBO Max to Indian audiences.

HBO Max will launch as an optional add-on for existing JioHotstar subscribers, with entry-level pricing starting at just ₹49 (around $0.50) per month. The dedicated HBO Max hub will host content spanning HBO’s iconic catalog, original Max Originals, blockbuster films from Warner Bros. Pictures, scripted series from Warner Bros. Television, and franchise titles from DC Studios. This Indian entry price point is dramatically lower than HBO Max’s standalone basic tier in the United States, which currently costs $10.99 per month.

In a statement to TechCrunch, JioHotstar confirmed that the viewing experience for HBO Max content will shift based on a user’s existing JioHotstar subscription plan, confirming that lower-cost base plans will include advertising alongside HBO Max content. JioHotstar’s own core subscriptions start at ₹79 (about $0.85) per month for ad-supported mobile-only access, and top out at ₹299 (roughly $3.20) per month for a full-featured ad-free premium plan.

India’s streaming market has grown at a breakneck pace in recent years. A recent report from global brokerage firm CLSA found the market now hits roughly 1.45 billion total monthly active users (MAUs), a surge fueled by ultra-affordable mobile data plans and fast-growing smartphone adoption across the country. Per the CLSA analysis, YouTube leads the Indian streaming space with 772 million MAUs, while JioHotstar ranks second with approximately 390 million monthly active users.

Even with the market’s overall rapid expansion, streaming penetration remains relatively low outside India’s major metro areas, according to recent estimates from industry consultancy Third Bridge. The firm, which compiles insights from on-the-record interviews with industry executives, notes that usage sits between 23% and 27% in India’s tier-2 regional markets, and falls to just 7% to 8% in smaller tier-3 towns. Third Bridge also added that most casual streaming users in India access platforms via discounted bundled offerings, rather than paying for direct standalone subscriptions.

The new HBO Max hub on JioHotstar will serve Indian audiences a mix of existing hit titles and highly anticipated upcoming premieres, including the third season of Euphoria, the next installment of House of the Dragon, DC Studios’ Lanterns, the upcoming rebooted Harry Potter television series, and dozens of other premium original and acquired titles.