Disney+ Hotstar is one of the largest online content streaming platforms in India. While users can get its subscription through its website or the mobile app, many Indians prefer getting it via their internet plans. Many services and plans, such as mobile prepaid and postpaid or fiber broadband, come bundled with Disney+ Hotstar. So it became the ultimate deal for consumers to get access to Disney+ Hotstar via an internet plan in the past. I believe two primary drivers behind the adoption of the platform's paid subscription by Indian consumers were the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Marvel/Disney content. But the IPL online streaming rights have gone to Viacom18.
Viacom18 will let Indian users stream IPL for free through JioCinema in the same manner as the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. It will be a significant blow to Disney+ Hotstar's popularity in the country. While a paid subscription of Disney+ Hotstar still holds value because of the access it brings to exclusive content, its demand is likely to get affected in India in the near future.
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Many telecom operators are still offering Disney+ Hotstar prepaid plans to consumers. However, I think these plans have lost the value they previously provided simply because they no longer give you access to IPL streaming online. IPL is a festival in India and arguably the largest cricket tournament in the world. Disney+ Hotstar benefitted a lot during the time of IPL every year, as new subscriptions would have likely come in, resulting in a revenue boost. Therefore, the telcos understood the value of offering Disney+ Hotstar bundled prepaid plans.
But since there's no more IPL in the Disney+ Hotstar, I can't help but wonder, what is the future of prepaid plans in India that come bundled with the OTT (over-the-top) platform?
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Will Telcos Get Rid of Disney+ Hotstar Now?
The phrase, don't fix what's not broken applies well in this situation. The telcos are unlikely to remove Disney+ Hotstar prepaid plans right now. While they would be wondering about the uptake of such plans, they have seen it working well in the past and, thus, would not make fast changes in offerings until the time a solid replacement can be found. Even without IPL, the telcos would like to see if there are consumers in India who would want Disney+ Hotstar bundled prepaid/postpaid mobile plans.
