INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
We finally know just about how many subscribers Hotstar has amassed over the years in India
&Approximately 8 million.&
Disney said on Wednesday that its eponymous streaming service now hasover 50 million subscribers, nearly 8
million of whom are in India, where it launched its service atop Hotstar less than a week ago.
Five-year-old Hotstar is the most popular
on-demand streaming service in India with more than 300 million users
The service and its operator, Indian network Star India, were picked up by Disney as part of its $71 billion deal with Fox last year.
For
years, people in the industry have been curious about Hotstar premium subscriber base — to no luck
Most estimates have suggested it had about 1.5 million to 2 million subscribers
Executives at rival firms have expected that figure to be lower.
In fact, a months-long analysis conducted by one streaming firm in India
concluded recently that there were 2 million paying subscribers for music and video services
So 8 million is a huge milestone.
But ARPU that Disney will clock from these 8 million subscriber is going to be far lower
Disney+ Hotstar is available in India at a yearly subscription cost of about $20
(That the revised subscription cost
Prior to Disney+ launch in India, Hotstar charged about $13.) The service also offers a lower-cost tier that costs less than $5.5 a
year.
And for that $20 a year, subscribers of Disney+ Hotstar get access to a wide-ranging catalog that includes access to Disney Originals
in English as well as several local languages, live sporting events, dozens of TV channels, and thousands of movies and shows, including
some sourced from HBO, Showtime, ABC and Fox that maintain syndication partnerships with the Indian streaming service.
&I think everyone is
still trying to sort out the right pricing
It true the average Indian consumer is used to far lower prices and can&t afford more
However, we need to focus on the consumers likely to buy this, who have the requisite broadband access and income, etc,& Matthew Ball,
former head of strategic planning for Amazon Studios, told TechCrunch in a recent conversation.
Disney+ competes with more than three dozen
international and local players in India, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Times Internet MX Player (which has over 175 million
monthly active users), Zee5, Apple TV+ and Alt Balaji, which has over 27 million subscribers.
Most of these services monetize their viewers
through ads, and have kept their monthly subscription price below $3.
