Disney+ will launch in India as Disney Plus Hotstar.
Walt Disney recently launched its own media streaming service called Disney+. The company is now finally gearing up to bring it to India on March 29. While the brand functions independently in the US, when it enters India, it will be rebranded from Disney+ to Disney+ Hotstar. Disney CEO Robert Iger spoke about the company's plan for the Indian market in the first quarter, 2020 earnings call.
Disney+ already has 28.6 million paid subscribers. With its launch in India, the company will take on the likes of Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. As mentioned by Iger during the call, the company will be collaborating with Hotstar to reach more people in India.
At the 2020 earnings call, Iger said, “We’re also excited to announce that we will be launching Disney Plus in India through our Hotstar service on March 29, at the beginning of the Indian Premier League Cricket season. We will be rebranding our existing Hotstar VIP and Premium subscription tiers to Disney Plus Hotstar.”
Disney has big plans for March 2020 as the company is not only launching the service in India. The service will be extending to other countries as well including UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Austria. While the service in the aforementioned countries is set to go live on March 24, the Indian audience will need to wait until March 29. The service is currently available only in the US, Canada and the Netherlands.
As far as the pricing is concerned, the Disney+ streaming service will most likely come bundled with the Hotstar Premium service. As of now, the Hotstar Premium costs Rs. 999 per year. There is also a monthly plan that will set you back Rs. 299 a month. Hotstar also has a VIP service, which costs Rs. 365 per year.
