The Reason For Disney+Hotstar’s Dominance In Indian OTT

The Reason For Disney+Hotstar’s Dominance In Indian OTT

Hotstar, launched by media giant Star India four years ago, is India’s most popular video streaming service. The platform’s 300 million monthly customers prefer using their devices to watch movies, TV series, and cricket.

Introduction

The number of Hotstar Disney+ subscribers was just made public. The streaming behemoth has 129.8 million total members, exceeding its projection. Even though worldwide rankings show that Disney+ is behind Netflix in India, the situation is different. Disney+ Hotstar is the undisputed leader in the OTT market.

More people subscribe to the dominant streaming service than to all other platforms combined. Prime Video has only 21 million members and is very close to it, with around 46 million customers.

The usage of Hotstar is 10% more than that of YouTube, the second-largest video streaming service in India. Even while just three million Hotstar users pay for the service, that number is still more significant than that of Amazon customers and double that of Netflix members. In India, Disney+Hotstar has achieved enormous success.

Even in the highly competitive Indian OTT industry, Hotstar was able to capture a dominant 29% of all viewers. It had 54 million paying customers, more than the combined paid users of Netflix and Amazon Prime (17 million) (5 million).

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Details About Disney+Hotstar

Disney+Hotstar, An Indian brand of subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service, is managed by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution and is owned by Novi Digital Entertainment of Disney Star. (Also known as Hotstar). Each business is a component of The Walt Disney Company. The name was initially used for a streaming service called Hotstar that included material movies, TV programs, live sports, and original programming from Disney Star’s regional networks, as well as content that was licensed from third parties, such as HBO and Showtime. In India, Hotstar quickly surpassed rival streaming services as mobile broadband usage rose dramatically.

Value For Money

While SonyLIV, Voot, and ZEE5 are more affordable than Disney+Hotstar, they cannot compare to the quantity and caliber of content Disney+Hotstar offers. Although SonyLIV produces incredibly inventive shows that are nothing short of a jewel, the absence of original movies is a major contributing cause to the platform’s less-than-ideal state.

However, many popular Bollywood and Tollywood films are released on the site, which is beneficial. One may only subscribe for Rs 499 per year. But even the ad-free FHD streaming costs only Rs 1099 per year, making it far less expensive than Prime Video and Netflix.

Hotstar offers subscriptions for as little as Rs. 399 per year, with occasional adverts interspersed throughout the programming. Disney has to set the price low since its customers are budget-conscious. Fewer subscription payments would also be offset by advertising income.

Disney has altered its price, but its overall business plan has not changed. Ads would still appear in between the content. Many consumers were concerned that ad-based video-on-demand (AVOD) models would result in OTT players losing money.

Still, AVOD is predicted to produce more income than subscription-based video-on-demand, according to Deloitte’s TMT Predictions 2022 study (SVOD). In addition, Netflix in India said it would run commercials on the site in response to Hotstar’s popularity.

Excellent and Vast Variety of Content

Along with several Hulu and HBO Max originals, users now have access to Marvel movies and television programs. Even Hotstar’s original content frequently outperforms the competitors. Kids adore Disney animated stuff, too. It is well-known that Disney is the undisputed champion of animation, making it the best option.

Offers For Recharge

Hotstar provides deals with both JIO and Airtel, in which customers receive both mobile data and Hotstar multimedia subscriptions. This is a brilliant and significant move on the part of the platform, rocketing its subscription base and putting it miles ahead of the competition.

While Premium (Rs 299 per month) includes both English and dubbed versions of the material, the VIP plan (Rs 399 per year) only offers dubbed local languages. Regarding access to devices, Premium users may watch on two screens in full HD, while VIP subscribers can only view HD on one screen.

The Engaging TV Series Aspect

The Star Network produces a lot of programming that keeps women glued to the television across its many stations. Anupama is one such program that has a considerable following among Hindi-speaking audiences. Many people choose the platform because of several other hugely successful sitcoms like Saath Nibhana Sathiya or Mahabharat.

Partnerships Between Hotstar and Jio

With telecoms like Reliance Jio, Hotstar debuted in 2015 and has long-term agreements for data-plus-streaming bundles. Jio customers may subscribe to Hotstar’s VIP package, which includes live sports, for Rs 50 (US$0.7) per month. Initially, Hotstar provided free content to Jio members, including the IPL, to monetize through advertising.

Through the arrangement, Hotstar gained access to Jio’s billions of subscribers. Hotstar encouraged users to pay a little fee to see the material after providing them free content to get them hooked on the platform. A corporate insider claims that a sizable portion of Hotstar users is Jio members.

Conclusion

Hotstar’s success may be attributable to its many business models. The pressing question is whether it could maintain its position as the industry leader. Things are different now because of Disney’s 2017 acquisition of the business. After the transaction, a large portion of the top management left the company.

Uday Shankar, allegedly the driving force behind the development of the company’s digital business, made one of the most prominent departures. He is a partner in Viacom18, owned by Ambani. Following his departure, Disney’s situation radically changed, and Viacom18 now has the streaming rights to the IPL.