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Why Disney+ hotstar lost subscribers
Kevin Lansberry, interim chief financial officer, said that Disney+ Hotstar subscribers declined this quarter because the company adjusted the product “from one centred 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. We will therefore continue to focus our commentary on the core Disney+ product,” Lansberry added.
JioCinema and IPL
It is to be noted that Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries outbid Disney in grabbing the streaming rights for Tata IPL and streamed one of the most watched tournaments in the world for free on JioCinema.
Meanwhile the company, Disney CEO Bob Iger, said that the company has been looking at multiple markets that will help it turn this business into a profitable business.
“What that basically means is there are some markets that we will invest less in local programming but still maintain the service. There are some markets that we may not have a service at all. And there are others that we’ll consider, I’ll call it, high-potential markets where we’ll invest nicely for local programming, marketing and basically full-service content in those markets,” he said.
“Basically, what I’m saying is not all markets are created equal. And in terms of our march to profitability, one of the ways we believe we’re going to do that is by creating priorities internationally,” Iger added.
Disney’s sale to Apple
The streaming giant has witnessed a decline in the third consecutive quarter. The development comes at a time when Disney is said to be working on a deal to sell or forming a joint venture in India. It is also being reported that Disney may be sold to Apple but according to company CEO Bob Iger: “It’s not something we obsess about.”
Disney+ now has 146.1 million subscribers globally, which is down over 11 million from 157.8 million subscribers last quarter.