Hooq Now Costs Rs. 89 per Month in India, Boasts Same-Day Airing for US TV Shows

Hooq has ditched its introductory pricing of Rs. 89 for 3 months, it announced on Wednesday, and is now moving to Rs. 89 per month with a 30-day trial period. The streaming service – jointly owned by Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., and Singapore's Singtel – is also making a push for the same day release of US television programming.

That includes the likes of The Big Bang Theory, Gotham, Supergirl, Lucifer, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, The Flash and Arrow, all of which are distributed by Warner Bros. Television. Hooq says new episodes of these shows will be available within 12 hours of their US premiere on its service.

That's akin to competitors: Netflix takes a few hours (Star Trek: Discovery) up to a few days (Rick and Morty) depending on the deal, while Hotstar gets most HBO shows minutes after and others such as Twin Peaks take up to a day.

At Rs. 89 per month, Hooq is one of the cheapest video-on-demand offerings in India. There's a price to pay for that, though, in terms of its catalogue size. As per JustWatch.com, a search engine that keeps track of streaming services, Hooq only has a total of 78 TV shows.

Most of its content is in the movies section, with over 1,800 titles. These include films owned and distributed by Sony and Warner Bros., such as Wonder Woman, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Baby Driver, Suicide Squad, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice among others.

There's a big catch to Hooq's movie catalogue, unfortunately. Not all of it is available with its subscription offering, with newer titles such as Wonder Woman and Spider-Man only available to rent. That's similar to how you would be able to view them on Google Play Movies or iTunes, except Hooq's ownership by studios allows it to lower rates: Rs. 59 per title.

Hooq currently operates only in Asia-Pacific, including India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.