Disney+ Hotstar gains 7 lakh subscribers in Oct-Dec 2023 after a year of decline

Streaming major Disney+ Hotstar’s subscriber count rose 2 per cent as it added 7 lakh subscribers during October-December 2023, reversing four straight quarters of subscriber decline in the wake of losing out the cricket Indian Premier League rights to rival Reliance Industries-backed Viacom 18’s JioCinema.  

Disney+ Hotstar, a part of the India business of the California-based entertainment giant Walt Disney Company, reported a 2 per cent rise in its subscriber count from 37.6 million at the end of September 2023 to 38.3 million as of December 2023. Disney+ Hotstar’s subscriber addition bucked the trend in overall Disney+ (which excludes Disney+ Hotstar) which reported a 1 per cent fall to 46.1 million subscribers.

Though present in India and other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, a large majority of Disney+ Hotstar’s 38.3 million come from India. This is the first time the streamer has reported an increase in subscriber count, 15 months since hitting a peak of 61.3 million subscribers at the end of September 2022. Since then, it has witnessed a steep decline in subscribers.

Additionally, Disney+ Hotstar’s average monthly revenue per paid subscriber also rose 83 per cent to $1.28 from $0.70 a quarter ago. “Disney+ Hotstar average monthly revenue per paid subscriber increased from $0.70 to $1.28 due to higher advertising revenue and increases in retail pricing, partially offset by a higher mix of subscribers from lower-priced markets,” the firm noted in its Q1 earnings release on Thursday.

The cheer for Disney+ Hotstar comes even as Disney is reportedly in talks with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) for the partial sale of its India business as part of a global cost restructuring operation. Although a deal and its contours are yet to be confirmed, it is likely to bring together erstwhile OTT rivals JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar together.

Viacom18, meanwhile, is on a growth spurt. Since mid-2022, it has been collecting several properties which once had a home at Disney Star – whether it is IPL on digital, bilateral India cricket matches or even HBO content – as it scales up its digital platform JioCinema.

JioCinema streamed the 2023 edition of cricket IPL for free for all JioCinema app users across telecom networks to get more viewers to its platform. But it has since rolled out a premium pricing plan for Rs 999 a year which gives access to premium Hollywood content on up to four devices, though live sports and local language entertainment are free.