Disney+ Hotstar sets streaming record during India-New Zealand cricket match
Disney+ Hotstar set a new global record for live streaming viewership today, amid the ICC Men's ODI World Cup 2023 semi-final match between India and New Zealand. The platform hit 50 million, surpassing the prior record of 44 million concurrent viewers during the India versus South Africa match on November 5. Over the past month, the app has seen a string of records. Notably, Hotstar remains ahead of rival JioCinema's 32 million record, set during CSK vs GT IPL finale.
Free streaming of cricket matches boosts success
Disney+ Hotstar's success is attributed to providing free, ad-supported streaming of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and the recently concluded Asia Cup to mobile users in India. The move came after JioCinema live-streamed the IPL matches for free earlier this year. Sajith Sivanandan, head of Disney+ Hotstar, stated in June, "Making the Asia Cup and ICC Men's Cricket World Cup available to a wider audience, we believe, will help us grow the overall ecosystem."
Disney considers options for its business in India
Disney is currently assessing various alternatives for its India operations, which it acquired as part of its $71.3 billion purchase of 21st Century Fox in 2019. Reports suggest Disney is considering selling or forming a joint venture for its Star India (now Disney Star) business. Disney CEO Bob Iger said, "We would like to stay in that market but we are also looking to see whether we can strengthen our hand and improve the bottom line."
Disney+ Hotstar struggles with subscriber losses
Disney+ Hotstar has been struggling with a loss of subscribers, shedding approximately 23.7 million paid subscribers within a year, including a 2.8 million subscriber decrease in the recent quarter. The decline is mainly due to the loss of access to crucial content offerings like IPL streaming rights and premium HBO content, which JioCinema now possesses the rights to. Separately, Hotstar announced that the forthcoming Pro Kabaddi League will be available for free to mobile users in India starting December 2.
