Disney bets on free chricket to retain Indian streaming customers

Walt Disney wants to revive its streaming business in India by offering free cricket broadcasts on smartphones. 

The company expects this to generate higher advertising revenue and compensate for subscriber churn.

Disney's streaming business in India, which was the company's largest in the world by number of users last year, posted a loss of 

$41.5 million on revenue of $390 million in the year to March 2022, the latest published results.

With the number of unsubscribes increasing and the number of users dropping by a third between October last year and July, 

the entertainment giant's financial results in the country are expected to come under even more pressure.

Disney's problems are a cautionary tale for the Indian market, where expectations for a growing middle class are often dashed by very cost-conscious consumers.

According to Reuter’s sources, the company admits it misjudged Indians' willingness to pay - people signed up for Hotstar when IPL was available, but didn't stick around to buy more premium plans to watch other content. 

"We were bullish on Indian subscribers' propensity to pay. That's not worked out," said one of the sources. "Free cricket is the only bullet left."

The company will live stream Asia Cup matches starting Aug. 30 and the World Cup in October/November, allowing users of the 600 million smartphones in the cricket-loving nation to watch the matches for free.

Source: www.reuters.com