Disney+ Hotstar Brings In Pause Ads Feature For Its Connected TV Feed

OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar has rolled out an advanced feature for pausing advertisements exclusively for its Connected TV (CTV) feed.

With this move, the company claims itself to be one of the first platforms in India to launch such feature for its users.

To be sure, pause advertisements will function when a user manually pauses the video content, only then a promotional video is played.

Disney+ Hotstar said in a statement that based on its analyses, on an average, users pause content 4-5 times a day, with over 90% of these pauses lasting less than 10 seconds. So, the company has integrated pause ads to offer non intrusive ad experience for its users.

However, it is seen that its global peer Amazon Prime Video has long-since been benefitted through running ads in the beginning of a video content, with permission for users to skip the promotional videos.

Dhruv Dhawan, head of advertisements at Disney+ Hotstar said, “The response to our CTV ads has been overwhelmingly positive. The launch of pause ads has generated significant excitement among our clients in the CPG, FMCG, F&B, and Auto sectors, Marico, Mondelez and ITC have been amongst the early adopters.”

Consumer brand executives from Marico Limited, Mondelez India and ITC Limited have collaborated with the OTT platform on this pause ads initiative to run their ad campaigns.

Disney+ Hotstar also offers advertisers a diverse suite of CTV ad formats, including auto-expanding CTV billboards, prerolls and midroll ads, and click-to-WhatsApp integrations, apart from the pause ads feature.

The Mumbai-based company said these options are designed to enhance brand equity and maximise engagement with CTV audiences, falling under the most premium and attentive viewers, providing advertisers with an exclusive opportunity to connect with them during their most engaged moments.

Since February, it is known that Disney is merging with Reliance Industries-backed Viacom18 for a deal valued at $8.5 Bn on a post-money basis, which will see the former holding a 36.84% stake against Viacom18’s 46.82% and RIL’s 16.34%.

In its financial report for the second quarter of 2024, the company’s parent Walt Disney said it incurred over $2 Bn charges due to goodwill impairments related to Star India and entertainment linear networks in India.

Giving further shape to their $8.5 Bn merger plans, Viacom18 and Walt Disney India are now reportedly looking to allay the antitrust concerns of the competition watchdog, where the companies said that advertisers would not be disadvantaged by the merger.