Disney+ Hotstar Sheds 5 Lakh More Paid Users In Q3, ARPU Up 50% QoQ

Streaming major Disney+ Hotstar continued to see a decline in its paid user base, shedding another 5 Lakh subscribers in the June quarter of 2024 (Q3).

As per parent Walt Disney’s financial statements for the quarter, the OTT platform saw its paid user base decline nearly 1.4% to 3.5 Cr in Q3 from 3.6 Cr in the previous quarter. 

The US-based media giant announced its financial results for the third quarter on Wednesday (August 8).

However, in some respite, the company said that the average monthly revenue per paid subscriber for Disney+ Hotstar improved by more than 50% to $1.05 (INR 88) in the period under review compared to $0.7 (INR 58.7) in the preceding quarter. 

The company attributed this turnaround to higher advertising revenue realised from the users of the largely India-focussed streaming platform. 

Besides India, Disney+ Hotstar also has operations in multiple Southeast Asian countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. However, a majority of its subscribers are from India. 

That said, the drop in the subscriber base came even as the streaming major broadcast the T20 Cricket World Cup during the quarter under review. For context, the final World Cup match between India-South Africa saw the platform attract a peak concurrent viewership of 5.3 Cr. 

Pertinent to note that Disney+ Hostar has largely banked on streaming cricket tournaments to attract a wider audience and paid subscribers to the platform. But, even the high profile tournament does not seem to have reigned in the decline. 

However, the decline in paid subscribers is nothing new for Disney+ Hotstar. The platform has been witnessing an exodus of users in droves for the last six quarters (except Q1 FY24). The latest numbers are nearly half of 6.1 Cr subscribers that the company boasted in the October quarter of 2022.

The drop in its numbers have been exacerbated by the entry of JioCinema and the Reliance-owned streaming platform poaching the streaming rights of all key cricket tournaments. Additionally, JioCinema has also inked pacts with major US studios to woo more premium English viewers to its platform. 

The development comes as Walt Disney gears up to merge its India unit with Reliance as part of a joint venture (JV) earlier this year. Pegged at over $8.5 Bn, the deal will create India’s biggest media conglomerate spanning properties of Star India as well as Viacom18. 

The combined entity will also capture about 85% of India’s video-streaming audience, as per brokerage Bernstein. 

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