Disney+ Hotstar loses another 12.5 million subscribers on IPL void  

Disney+ Hotstar lost 12.5 million paid subscribers in the April-June quarter as India’s largest streaming platform continued to bleed users over the void left by the Indian Premier League even as parent firm The Walt Disney Company is reportedly exploring a sale of its India business.  

Disney’s India-focused OTT platform saw its paid subscriber base plunge 24% to 40.4 million in the April-June quarter compared to 52.9 million a quarter ago. 

It had 61.3 million subscribers in Asia at the end of September 2022. A large majority of it came from India, making it the largest streamer by user base in the country, way ahead of rivals Amazon Prime Video (approximately 20 million) and Netflix (approximately 6-7 million).  

“Disney+ Hotstar subscribers declined this quarter as we adjusted our product from one centered around the IPL to one more balanced with other sports and entertainment offerings. I would also note that this business with its significantly lower ARPU compared to core Disney+ is not a material component of our overall D2C financial results,” said Interim Chief Financial Officer Kevin Lansberry, at the post-result earnings call early on Thursday. 

Disney+ Hotstar brought in an average revenue per user (ARPU) of $0.59, while Core Disney+ reported $6.58 in ARPU. The platform managed to attract a large part of that subscriber base because of the IPL cricket tournament, the digital streaming rights of which it has lost to Reliance-backed Viacom18 for the 2023-27 cycle.   

Disney+ Hotstar has since seen its fortune reverse. Since end of September 2022, its base has fallen every quarter, shrinking by a cumulative 20 million-plus subscribers in nine months. The platform also stopped streaming HBO content, which included popular shows such as Game of Thrones, The Last Of Us and Succession, on its platform since March 31.  

The Walt Disney Company follows an October-September calendar. The Disney management had expected the Disney+ Hotstar user base to decline in October-December 2022 and stabilise in January-March 2023, but the decline has continued.  

Disney acquired media baron Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox in 2018 through which Star India came into its fold. Star India (now renamed as Disney Star after the merger of the two media giants) includes the streaming app Disney+ Hotstar. Recently, there have been talks of Walt Disney selling off its India business.  

Meanwhile, JioCinema streamed the IPL in 2023 after parent Viacom18 bagged the digital streaming rights for a whopping Rs 23,758 crore. The Mukesh Ambani-backed app reported a peak viewership of 3.2 crore (32 million) concurrent viewers. But it is not clear yet how many of those viewers have stuck on to the platform after the IPL 2023 season ended in May. The platform also announced 100-plus original movies and shows, many of which were for meant for JioCinema exclusively as competition for the top spot in India’s video OTT space intensifies. 

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