The paid subscriber base of the OTT streaming giant Disney+Hotstar rises to 45.9 million

The paid subscriber base of OTT player Disney+ Hotstar has increased. The streaming giant added 2.6 million new paid subscribers for the quarter that ended on January 1, 2022. The total paid subscribers of the platform now stand at 45.9 million users.

With the majority of the users from India, Disney+Hotstar is also currently available in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The service was earlier available as Disney+ in India and was rebranded to Disney+Hotstar in April 2020. Unlike Disney+ which offers only paid subscriptions, Disney+Hotstar offers some content on a free ad-supported model.

According to moneycontrol.com, the monthly average revenue per user (ARPU) has increased from $0.64 to $1.03 in the prior quarter for Disney's video streaming service and the company attributed this rise to its entry into new markets with higher average prices. The service had also made some changes in its pricing strategy in September 2021. It offers three different plans, starting at Rs 499 for a mobile-only plan; Rs 899 for HD quality and support for two devices; and Rs 1,499 for 4K quality and support for four devices.

Disney+ said, according to the portal, that it earned an overall average of $4.41 per month per user this quarter, but if Disney+Hotstar were to be excluded, the ARPU rises to $6.33 per month. In the coming weeks, 

IPL tournament is likely to go on auction and the platform will face tough competition in the bidding for the media rights of the tournament, which has been one of the major reasons for more subscribers for Disney+ Hotstar.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek spoke about how IPL is an important factor for their subscriber goals but he is also confident to achieve the target of 230-260 million Disney+ subscribers by the end of fiscal 2024. Chapek said that they are developing local content, including from its own brands Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and Nat Geo, which he believes will help, if they don't win the auction. The platform add over 18,000 hours of original programming every year, he said.

Revenues from Disney's direct-to-consumer segment have gone up globally. It grew 34 per cent year-on-year to $4.69 billion for the quarter. But it also suffered loss, which increased by 27 percent from $0.46 billion to $0.59 billion, the company said, as per the portal.

The company currently has around 196.4 million subscribers across all its streaming services — Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu.