Disney, a global entertainment conglomerate that operates a variety of streaming platforms, saw its total subscribers fall 2% in the quarter ending March this year. This decline is primarily due to a particular streaming service, Hotstar.
The Disney+ Hotstar platform, which targets audiences in India and Southeast Asia, lost 4.6 million subscribers during the aforementioned quarter. This marks the second quarter in a row that platform subscribers have declined. Since last October, Hotstar’s total subscriber count has reached his 8.4 million, according to Disney’s earnings call. Hotstar, whose largest market is India, still has about 53 million subscribers.
Disney’s problems go beyond declining subscribers. The company has also seen declining revenue from users who maintain subscriptions to its streaming service. Hotstar’s average revenue per subscriber fell from 74 cents to 59 cents in the quarter through March.
Hotstar, a valuable asset from Disney’s acquisition of Fox, is desperate to find a way to keep its subscriber base happy. The Indian streaming platform has attracted customers by offering live streaming of cricket matches, especially his local IPL tournament.But Disney Exceeds Viacom18’s bid for IPL digital rights this season, a company backed by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries. To aggressively attract customers, JioCinema will stream his IPL this year for free in India.
“The drop in impressions was attributed to lower average viewership across sports and non-sport channels. It started about a week later than last year, which reflects fewer Indian Premier League (IPL) games airing this quarter compared to the previous quarter,” Disney said in Wednesday’s earnings call. Stated.
Hotstar’s outlook remains bleak as the streaming service grapples with the problem. The licensing deal with HBO recently endedThe entertainment giant immediately withdrew its entire catalog from the Indian platform, along with Viacom18. Secure the rights to HBO and additional Warner Bros. content.
Industry analysts predict that Hotstar’s subscriber decline could escalate, reaching another 7 million by the end of the year.
