Disney+Hotstar's Subscriber Base Falls By 4.6 Million After Losing IPL Streaming Rights To JioCinema

According to the company's earnings report, Disney's global streaming platforms suffered a 2 per cent contraction in its total subscriber base for the quarter ending March this year.

In the previous five years, Disney Star was the sole TV and digital rights holder for the IPL. 

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Disney+Hotstar lost 4.6 million subscribers in the second quarter of the financial year 2022, according to Disney’s earnings reports. This after the platform lost the Indian Premier League's digital rights from 2023 to Reliance-owned JioCinema. According to the company's earnings report, the global entertainment conglomerate operating a variety of streaming platforms suffered a 2 per cent contraction in its total subscriber base for the quarter ending March this year. Since October of last year, Hotstar’s total subscriber loss has reached 8.4 million. 

In the first quarter of 2023, the number of paid subscribers for Disney+Hostar dropped by 3.8 million to 57.5 million. In the second quarter, as of April 1, 2023, Disney+ Hotstar has 52.9 million paid subscribers, a decrease of 4.4 million, according to the company’s earnings report. Additionally, in Q2, the average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for Disney+ Hotstar decreased by 20 per cent, from $0.74 to $0.59.

On the other hand, JioCinema, owned by Viacom18, has become increasingly popular with over 10 million subscribers reportedly joining in the first quarter of 2023. Viacom18 recently acquired digital streaming rights for IPL from 2023 to 2027 for approximately $2.9 billion. In the previous five years, Disney Star was the sole TV and digital rights holder for the IPL. 

“Lower impressions were attributable to decreases in average viewership at our sports and non-sports channels. The decrease at our sports channels was primarily due to cricket programming, which reflected airing fewer Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in the current quarter compared to the prior-year quarter as the 2023 IPL season started approximately one week later than the 2022 season,” Disney said in its earnings report Wednesday.

Hotstar also recently terminated its licensing agreement with HBO. The entertainment titan promptly withdrew its entire catalog from the Indian platform, with Viacom18 securing the rights to HBO and additional Warner Bros. content.

Viacom18 on Thursday announced that it has entered into a deal with Warner Bros to bring HBO, Max Original, and Warner Bros. content to the JioCinema app. The deal will allow popular shows such as "Succession", "House of the Dragon", the upcoming "Harry Potter" series, as well as DC Universe movies, to be available on the platform. The financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed by either party.