The war between video on demand services in India is intensifying with every passing day. Earlier this month, Netflix introduced mobile-only weekly plans to the subscribers and we also saw Sony LIV slashing its monthly premium subscription price to Rs 99. Hotstar, which is one of the popular OTT services in India has increased its monthly subscription price from Rs 199 to Rs 299. The reason behind the price hike is unknown at the moment, but it seems like the company wants to push every user to choose the yearly subscription which costs Rs 999. The price hike comes after the release of the first Episode of Game of Thrones which only Hotstar streams in India. To recall, Hotstar slashed the price of its monthly subscription to Rs 199 last year and even the yearly price came to Rs 999 last year itself. It’s good to see Hotstar not hiking the price of a yearly plan.
Hotstar Monthly Plan or Yearly Plan: Which One to Choose?
It’s a brave move from Hotstar at a time when other platforms are reducing subscription prices. But it’s clearly evident that the company wants everyone to choose its yearly plan over the monthly one. There’s a massive craze around Game of Thrones web series and Hotstar has exclusive rights to air it in India. This year, the company is airing Game of Throne alongside the United States, giving another reason for the fans to cheer. It seems like a lot of users are choosing Hotstar’s monthly plan only to watch the popular series.
But with the price hike, it doesn’t make any sense to choose Hotstar’s monthly plan now. For example, Game of Thrones final Season 8 is said to have six episodes with each episode being released every Monday. The final episode of the series will be released on May 19, 2019. So, you’ll have to subscribe to Hotstar for two months to watch the full web series of GOT. And the subscription cost comes to Rs 598. As noted, Hotstar’s yearly plan is available for subscription at Rs 999; Adding a little amount will give the Hotstar’s premium membership with a lot of content for a year. New Hotstar users will also receive three days of free trial during which they can unsubscribe the service.
Hotstar VIP Membership Announced at Rs 365 per Year
Recently, Hotstar also introduced a new Hotstar VIP membership priced at Rs 365 for a year. You might be wondering what’s the difference between Hotstar VIP and Hotstar Premium membership; Well, the difference is the VIP subscription will not allow you to watch the English web series available on the platform. Hotstar VIP membership allows you to watch live sports, Hotstar Special series and other regional series which will be aired on the television.
In short, the VIP subscription will not provide you with access to popular web series like Game of Thrones, Gotham, True Detective among others. Hotstar even removed the Sports premium plan which it introduced during Indian Premier League 2018.