India seems most attractive market for global OTT platforms. Just 15 days back, Amazon Prime Video unveiled a blockbuster slate of content for India, which included 40 TV and film originals. Immediately, Indian streaming giant Zee5 unwrapped over 80 titles for the year.
Now, we have another global biggie Disney+ Hotstar coming up with a huge offering targeting the Indian OTT-watching public.
The Walt Disney Company has announced that there are 500 local original titles in various stages of development and production for Disney+. Out of this, the platform is working on 100 original shows in local content for India.
"When you look at that 500, I'll give you some broad breakdowns. In the Asia-Pacific region, including Southeast Asia, of 500, 140 is in that region. In EMEA, it's 150. In India, it's 100. And in Latin America, it's 200," said Christine McCarthy, Senior Executive Vice President and CFO, The Walt Disney Company.
The company did not divulge any specific details about the impending new content. But McCarthy said: "Our world-class creative teams are focused on creating content that will drive subscriber growth in targeted segments and deeper engagement across the platform. This includes leveraging our existing intellectual property. Also, we're intent on creating new franchises."
IPL and Disney+ Hotstar
Meanwhile, buoyed by the IPL, the Disney+ Hotstar subscription crossed the 50-million mark for the first time. Overall, Disney+ added 7.9 million subscribers in the quarter.
"With 7.9 million Disney+ subscribers added in the quarter and total subscriptions across all our DTC offerings exceeding 205 million — once again proved that we are in a league of our own," Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company said.
According to McCarthy, a little over half of the net adds for Disney+ were from Disney+ Hotstar. This is being attributed to the IPL, which got going from March 26. Internationally, excluding Disney+ Hotstar, the streaming platform added over 2 million paid subscribers versus the first quarter.
As of April 2, 2022, Disney+ Hotstar subscriptions were up 42% year-on-year, at 50.1 million, as per the company’s Q2 earnings report while Disney+ subscription stood at 137.7 million.
