As long as the IPL streaming right was in its kitty, the Disney Plus Hotstar platform wasn't really stretched to work on its subscribers base. The streaming platform’s total subscriber base was around 50.1 million, well over a third of its global subscribers of 137.7 million. Half of Disney’s most subscriber growth came from India, thanks to the IPL.
But last June, Viacom18, a platform belonging to India's top business group Reliance, snapped the IPL streaming rights in an intense auction.
At that time, we had written that "with IPL streaming rights loss, Disney Plus Hotstar will see a huge erosion in its Indian subscribers (in millions)."
And as it happens, the Walt Disney Co, the holding company, has lowered its subscriber target for Disney Plus Hotstar service in India, and by extension to the global Disney Plus platform. The company expects to have 215 million to 245 million global subscribers by the end of fiscal 2024, as compared to the previously announced expectation of 230 million to 260 million. Disney Plus Hotstar's own target too has been recalibrated to 80 million by the end of fiscal 2024.
Disney Plus and Disney Plus Hotstar to be distanced
The company has also decided to kind of decouple Disney Plus Hotstar and Disney Plus when it comes to computing subscriber base. Christine McCarthy, Disney’s chief financial officer, said the separation has been necessitated because Disney Plus Hotstar is a different service that includes sports rights and other content not found on Disney Plus in other territories.
It may be recalled that Disney had launched Disney Plus in India on top of Hotstar in April 2020 and rebranded the service as Disney Plus Hotstar.
Disney Plus Hotstar, even though streams cinema and web series type entertainment content, is not only dependent on cricket (read IPL) for subscribers but also for advertisement revenue. It is said 70% of its advertising revenue is IPL-led.
Disney Plus Hotstar is still hoping to ride the cricketing bandwagon. Rebecca Campbell, Chairman, International Content and Operations, The Walt Disney Company, had earlier said: "We will be exploring other multiplatform cricket rights, including future rights for International Cricket Council (ICC) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which we currently hold through the 2023 and 2024 seasons, respectively."
Additionally, the platform holds Pro Kabaddi League rights, Indian Super League football rights, as well as various international sports rights, including the Wimbledon Championships and the English Premier League. These events can salvage some numbers for it. But it needs a new plan to compensate for the IPL loss.
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