In a spectacular feat, Disney’s streaming service, Disney+ Hotstar, achieved a historic global viewership milestone on October 22, with a staggering peak concurrency of approximately 43 million viewers tuning in to witness the India vs New Zealand cricket match in the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.
This remarkable achievement eclipses the previous record of 35 million concurrent viewers, which was established during the intense India versus Pakistan clash just a little over a week ago on October 14.
What’s particularly noteworthy is that this successive display of record-breaking numbers follows Disney+ Hotstar’s strategic move to offer complimentary streaming access to the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for mobile users in India. This bold step was taken in response to rival service JioCinema’s earlier provision of free streaming for the IPL tournament earlier in the year, further intensifying the competition in the streaming domain.
Disney+ Hotstar also provided complimentary streaming of the Asia Cup tournament on mobile devices recently. This led to a significant achievement of 28 million simultaneous viewers during the India vs Pakistan cricket match. This marked the highest digital viewership for any cricket match involving India up until that point.
Disney+ Hotstar Adapts to Evolving Market Dynamics
Disney+ Hotstar, the reigning streaming giant in India, has recently experienced a significant shift in its subscriber base. Over the past three quarters, the platform saw a decrease of nearly 21 million subscribers. This decline was most notable in the quarter ending July 1, 2023, when paid memberships dropped to 40.4 million, down from a peak of 61.3 million in October 2022.
This dip in subscribers coincided with Disney+ Hotstar losing access to crucial content that played a pivotal role in its initial surge in popularity within the Indian market. The rights for IPL streaming and premium HBO content, once cornerstones of the platform’s offerings, have now shifted to Viacom18’s JioCinema.
In a strategic move, Disney’s interim CFO, Kevin Lansberry, addressed this decline during the company’s earnings conference call in August 2023. He attributed it to a shift in product focus, transitioning from an exclusive emphasis on the IPL to a more diverse range of sports and entertainment offerings.
Simultaneously, reports have emerged about Disney’s exploration of potential options for its Star India (now Disney Star) business. Acquired as part of a monumental $71.3 billion deal with 21st Century Fox in 2019, Disney is now contemplating a sale or a joint venture for this entity.
Notably, last year, Disney Star secured the digital and television rights for all ICC events until 2027, in a deal valued at approximately $3 billion. They subsequently sublicensed the television rights to Zee Entertainment Enterprises.
“Making the Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup available to a wider audience, we believe, will help us grow the overall ecosystem,” Sajith Sivanandan, head of Disney+ Hotstar said (reports).
In this evolving landscape, Disney+ Hotstar is navigating through challenges, demonstrating its adaptability and resilience in the face of heightened competition and shifting content dynamics.