Disney+ Hotstar's paid subscriber base in India declined for the fourth consecutive quarter in the period ended September, as it continued to lose ground in a highly competitive market.
The India video streaming service of multimedia giant Disney reported its paid subscribers at 3.76 crore in the fourth quarter ended September, compared to 4.04 crore in the previous quarter. This translates to a loss of about 28 lakh subscribers, or nearly 7%. Disney follows the October–September financial year.
This would also mean that it is now nearing halving its strongest-ever number of about 6.13 crore subscribers, which it achieved in the same quarter last fiscal.
To be clear, this is Disney+ Hotstar's earnings for the July-September quarter, which doesn't include the potential gains it could've made from World Cup streaming, which started in October.
However, Disney+ Hotstar's average monthly revenue per paid subscriber increased from $0.59 to $0.70 "due to a lower mix of wholesale subscribers and higher advertising revenue," the company said in its earnings release.
While its cable TV channel business has done "quite well and is making money", other parts have been "challenging for us and for others", Disney's Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said.
"We have an opportunity to strengthen our hand. It is now maybe the most populous country in the world, or maybe just still second to China and about to pass them. We'd like to stay in that market. But we're also looking to see whether we can, obviously, strengthen our hand and improve the bottom line," Iger said in an analyst call.
Disney+ Hotstar's subscriber base has been declining after it stopped offering premium HBO content to its users as well as the IPL, the rights of both of which now lie with Mukesh Ambani's Jio Cinema.
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