Ampere noted Disney+ Hotstar has also decided against bidding for packages of Paramount and NBCUniversal titles, with Viacom18’s Jio Cinema the home of these, too.
The UK-based research house said Disney would need to “review its partnership deals with mobile telcos and encourage direct subscription.” Disney+ Hotstar’s ARPU was $0.59 in Q1 2023, more than ten times lower than the $6.47 of the core Disney+ service around the world. “With India set to keep its position as the world’s third largest SVoD market after the US and China with an expected growth to 180m subscriptions in 2027, it is important for Disney+ Hotstar to balance its content expenditure and subscription retention and acquisition,” said Orina Zhao, Senior Analyst at Ampere Analysis.
“Jio Cinema is expected to announce more standard subscription plans later this year which will increase direct competition with existing players and change the ecosystem of the market.