Content from Disney’s streaming platform Disney+ has arrived on Hotstar in India, weeks ahead of its scheduled release date 29th March.
This move is a result of Walt Disney completing its acquisition of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox back in March 2019. This also put the media behemoth in control of Star India and Hotstar, which come under Fox.
Instead of releasing a separate app for India, Disney decided to harness Hotstar’s existing estimated user base of 300 million, even rebranding the name to Disney+ Hotstar.
Many users had reported witnessing a change in the logo during the last few days, but few would have expected an early release.
The India-based platform now offers the users Disney’s entire content library, boasting hugely popular cinematic franchise such as Avengers and Star Wars, as well as acclaimed originals like The Mandalorian and Togo.
The content seems to be segregated based on packages. While existing content like Aladdin and The Lion King is available on Hostar VIP, users need to have a premium subscription to view exclusive Disney+ content.
Walt Disney released Disney+ in November last year as its own attempt to win the worldwide streaming war which also has big players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
It saw a fast start with 10 million users subscribing on the very first day, which climbed to 28.6 million during fiscal Q1. Through Hotstar, it will be looking to capture India, which is already a target for Netflix and Prime Video due to its population and increase in streaming viewers.
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