The revelation that 8 million of DisneyPlus' subscribers came from India offered a valuable glimpse at the state of play for the streaming battle in the world's second-most populous country
Analysts note that some of the 8 million users in the country aren't entirely"new," with most likely to be existing Hotstar subs. Wednesday that streaming service Disney+ had already amassed 50 million subscribers, it said a large chunk of the new paying users — 8 million of them — came from India.
Since its launch in 2015, Hotstar has carved out a powerful position in India's VOD landscape. Much of the streamer's growth has come on the back of the various sports and cricket rights it controls, including the Indian Premier League, the country's most popular spectator event by far. During the peak of the cricket season, Hotstar is estimated to peak at around 300 million active users.
With the launch of Disney+ in India on April 3, Hotstar officially became Disney+ Hotstar, with varying levels of additional Disney content laid atop the former subscription offerings. A Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscription, which now costs $5.20 per year, gives access to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bollywood films, Hotstar originals, unlimited live sports and Star TV series.
Others on the Street took a deep dive on the Indian figure. "Since Disney’s press release specifically referenced 50 million 'paid' subscribers, we believe only the Hotstar paying subscribers were included in that count, which apparently was 8 million,” said Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger in a report issued after the Disney announcement, addressing questions he said he had heard from investors.
Indeed, 8 million subs represents a strong competitive foothold for Disney+ in India, a market with vast growth potential, where rivals like Netflix and Amazon Prime already haveMedia Partners Asia, a leading regional research group, estimates that India currently has 27 million paying online video subscribers, with Hotstar Disney+ taking a healthy 30 percent share, versus 45 percent for Amazon , and just 11 percent for Netflix. The rest of pie is claimed by an array of local operators.
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