The end of the contract between OCS and HBO de facto orphans a large part of the catalog of the American. Waiting for buyers who are still slow to decide…
The miracle did not happen for lovers of game of thrones. Since January 1, it is no longer possible to (legally) watch the series in France, like around sixty other cult programs including The Sopranos, Sex & The City, TheWire or Six Feet Under.
The fault at the end of the contract between HBO and OCS, scheduled for January 31, 2022. Originally, HBO (owned by Warner Discovery) was to launch its own platform in France, called HBO Max, but the project finally fell to l water last summer. As a result, OCS, which broadcast the programs exclusively, no longer has the rights and no other platform has taken over.
So how do you watch the HBO catalog? Huge question. Behind the scenes, negotiations continue to know the buyer of all or part of the series in question.
Who to take up the torch?
Several options are on the table, including a takeover of the catalog by Canal Plus – which has also embarked on the acquisition of OCS – or even a sharing of programs with Amazon Prime. But the negotiations are far from simple and could last several months, or even until the end of the year.
Still, House of the Dragon, the spin-off series from HBO’s Games of Thrones, is still on OCS for the time being.