Cricket, in the form of IPL, appears to have increased subscribers to Disney+ Hotstar in India, which in turn has added significant weight to the global Disney+ numbers. Rebecca Campbell, president of international operations and direct-to-consumer for The Walt Disney Company, said at the company's annual Investor Day that Disney+ had about 86,8 million subscribers worldwide in December. About 30% of that, or 26,8 million, comes from Disney+ Hotstar (the Indian branch), which these days has added to its exclusive Indian content. "We are in a unique position for India because of the rapidly growing middle class and its purchasing power," she said of the company's presence in India. Disney expects to have between 230 and 260 million Disney+ subscribers by 2024.
IPL Drives Rapid Growth at Disney + Hotstar
During the investor day presentation, it was learned that Disney+ Hotstar had added nearly 7.5 million paying members in the past two months. Much of this growth in the user base is attributed to the streaming of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which began on September 19 and continued until November 10. The company said last month that streaming IPL generated an average revenue of €2.19 per user in India in the quarter ending in September. The Indian model will serve as a model for other South Asian markets such as Indonesia, the company said at the investor meeting. Disney+ Hotstar currently offers content in seven Indian languages and adds approximately 17,000 hours of original local programming each year (this includes streaming cricket and other sports). Hotstar rebranded itself as Disney+ Hotstar in India in April.
Star and Star + in other markets
Disney+ Hotstar's good show in India (and also Indonesia) has helped the company to offer the service to other markets through two different brands: Star and Star+. Star will be a general entertainment offering comprising movies, shows and sports content from ESPN. In markets like Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, Star will be available as a dedicated hub in the Disney+ app starting February 23, 2021. The service will also be available in Japan and Japan. South Korea later in 2021. In Latin America, the service will launch as a standalone Star+ service in June 2021. This will be the sixth tier of the service with content from Disney, Pixar, National Geographic, Marvel, and Star Wars. Important announcements from Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, Disney Animation Studios, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products were also announced during yesterday's meeting. In the next few years, 10 Star Wars series, 10 Marvel series, 15 Disney and Pixar series, and 15 Disney and Pixar features will be made.