Bollywood stars Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif and Tiger Shroff interacted in a live chat on the service to promote the Indian premieres of 'The Lion King' and 'The Mandalorian.'
Baby Yoda has finally landed in India. Disney's streaming service Disney+, which made the diminutive star of The Mandalorian a global phenomenon, was unveiled in the country Friday after the original launch was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Back in February, then Disney CEO Bob Iger said that the company would be "launching Disney+ in India through our Hotstar service on March 29, at the beginning of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket season. We will be rebranding our existing Hotstar VIP and Premium subscription tiers to Disney+ Hotstar."
But as COVID-19 began to spread in India, the lucrative and wildly popular IPL opening was postponed to Apr. 15 by country's cricket governing body the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi soon ordered a 21 day "total lockdown" of the country till Apr. 14 casting doubts over this year's IPL considering major international sporting events such as the Tokyo Olympics have been postponed to next year.
It goes without saying that Disney India would have orchestrated a high profile launch for Disney+ timed with the IPL given how the event enjoys massive viewership on the company's Star India network and its OTT service Hotstar. Disney acquired Star India as part of its $71.3 billion takeover of large parts of 21st Century Fox.
Last year's IPL final was watched by 18.6 million viewers on Hotstar, setting a streaming record. That kind of viewership would have been a huge boost to promote Disney+ in the country added to the fact that Hotstar, which also offers a free AVOD option, has an estimated 300 million monthly active users, though not all of them are paying subscribers.
Nevertheless, Disney turned to some Bollywood star power to promote the launch with a "virtual red carpet premiere" Thursday evening. It featured Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Shraddha Kapoor, Rana Daggubati and Tiger Shroff, among others, interacting with fans via a live chat on Disney+ Hotstar as the service premiered The Lion King (which was also dubbed in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu) followed by The Mandalorian.
The live interaction was promoted with the #StayHomeStaySafe hashtag in a bid to increase awareness about staying indoors during the lockdown. "I know times are tough, but we're tougher and we'll beat this," Tiger Shroff posted during the live chat adding, "I hope you're all staying at home, safe and sound!" Shraddha Kapoor also urged her fans to stay indoors stating, "We are very fortunate to have roofs above our heads and we must cherish our time with our loved ones."
Similarly, Parineeti Chopra, who is starring in the upcoming Bollywood remake of The Girl on the Train, shared that she hadn't "stepped out in three weeks. But it is NOT getting to me, because I know this is for my and our country's safety."
The interaction also saw fans asking stars about their favorite Disney characters to which Hrithik Roshan replied, "Too many but if I have to choose I think Mr. Incredible [from The Incredibles]. Probably because I relate to his instincts as a father."
Disney+ Hotstar is available with two subscription options: Disney+ Hotstar VIP is offered at $5.30 (399 rupees) per year which gives access to the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Hotstar's Indian originals such as spy thriller Special Ops, Bollywood films and unlimited live sports and Star TV shows. Disney+ Hotstar Premium is offered at $19.9 (1,499 rupees) per year includes Disney+ Hotstar VIP content in addition to 29 Disney+ originals such as The Mandalorian, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series and the live-action Lady and the Tramp in addition to shows from HBO, Fox and Showtime.
All existing subscribers have been automatically upgraded to their respective new subscription plans and will be charged the new rates upon renewal.
By contrast, Amazon Prime charges $13.5 (999 rupees) per year while Netflix's monthly plans start from $2.6 (199 rupees) going upto $10.7 (799 rupees).
"Today, as we unveil Disney+ Hotstar, we take yet another momentous step in staying committed to our promise of delivering high-quality impactful stories for India that have not only entertained but also made a difference in people’s lives, a promise that is even more meaningful in challenging times such as this," Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and Star & Disney India president Uday Shankar said in an earlier statement while confirming the India launch date. He added: "We hope the power of Disney’s storytelling, delivered through Hotstar’s technology, will help our viewers find moments of comfort, happiness and inspiration during these difficult times."
Meanwhile, the coronavirus lockdown has resulted in a sudden spike in viewership in the world's second most populous country where VOD is largely consumed on smartphones. A recent joint report by television monitoring agency BARC and Nielsen indicates that since March, time spent per user on smartphones has grown by 12 percent while video streaming services have seen an 11 percent increase.
Taking a long-term view, like its competitors, Disney+ also hopes to cash in on India's booming digital video market which is estimated to grow to $5 billion by 2023 from $500 million in 2018 according to Boston Consulting Group. A recent report by consultants Ernst and Young states that video viewership reached 378 million in 2019 compared to 325 million in 2018, growing by 16 percent. Paid video subscriptions more than doubled to 11 million in 2019 over 4 million subscribers in 2018.
Much as Indian content drives viewership, the market is also seeing players expanding their international offerings. Voot Select, the recently launched premium version of Viacom India's Voot platform, also offers content from CBS, Showtime, Fremantle, Endemol Shine, BBC and Sony Pictures among others. The service is offered at $13.5 (999 rupees) per year.
Similarly, Indian platform ErosNow has plans to launch its stand alone ErosNow Prime service offering content in partnership with NBCUniversal featuring such shows as Will and Grace, New Amsterdam, Belgravia, Suits and the spin-off Pearson, among others.
Specialist movie platform Mubi, which launched in the country last November offering a mix of international and Indian movies, recently struck a deal with Sony Pictures Television India giving the streamer access to 100 Sony-owned feature films in the country. These include Django Unchained, Dr Strangelove, Taxi Driver, Stand By Me, Big Fish, Volver, The Anderson Tapes, Punch-Drunk Love and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
