Disney's decision is a testament to the popularity of cricket in India, and its centrality to Disney's plans for its new streaming service. In 2019, Hotstar and the IPL cricket tournament set a global record for most viewers simultaneously watching a live-stream — The IPL series itself totaled over 300 million total viewers for the 2019 season, exceeded 10 million concurrent viewers across several different games.
Disney+ isn't the only streaming service grappling with coronavirus-driven disruptions — others are navigating issues from production delays to streaming quality. Coronavirus-driven production delays are affecting original content production for most SVOD services: Disney's Marvel Studios