iWorld
JioHotstar brings HBO Max to India in exclusive Warner Bros. tie-up
Hit shows and global franchises arrive as platform sharpens streaming edge
MUMBAI: JioHotstar has expanded its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery to bring HBO Max to India, making it the exclusive home for the global streaming platform in the country.
The HBO Max hub, now live on JioHotstar, offers a wide catalogue spanning HBO, Max Originals, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios, creating a unified destination for premium international content.
The launch gives Indian audiences access to some of the most anticipated titles of 2026, including new seasons of Euphoria and House of the Dragon, alongside an upcoming Harry Potter series. Popular titles already available include The Last of Us, Succession, Game of Thrones and The White Lotus.
In a first for the platform, subscribers can also stream iconic series such as Friends and The Big Bang Theory, along with other fan favourites like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and The Flash.
Commenting on the launch, JioHotstar CEO entertainment Kevin Vaz said, “This marks a defining moment in how premium global content is accessed and experienced in India.” He added that the integration brings together scale, curation and accessibility to deliver a more immersive viewing experience.
Echoing the sentiment, Warner Bros. Discovery president Apac James Gibbons said, “India is one of the most vibrant streaming markets globally, and in JioHotstar, we have a partner with unmatched scale and a deep understanding of local audiences.” He noted that the move strengthens the reach of the company’s global franchises in the country.
The HBO Max hub will sit alongside JioHotstar’s existing content library, with subscription add-on plans starting at Rs 49 per month, offering viewers broader access to international programming.
With streaming competition heating up, this tie-up signals a clear push by JioHotstar to double down on premium global content and cement its position as a one-stop destination for entertainment in India.
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
