Disney's India Streaming Arm Continues To Bleed Subscribers, Spurring Talk Of Sale To Mukesh Ambani Or Gautam Adani

This story was first published on the Benzinga India portal.

On Tuesday, Walt Disney Co DIS, the managing firm of Disney+ Hotstar, published its Q3 earnings report.

According to the company's financial disclosures, Disney+ Hotstar, the popular streaming service in India, witnessed a drop of approximately 2.8 million subscribers from July to September. Subscriptions at the end of September stood at 37.6 million, a 7% decrease from the 40.4 million as of July 1. In the past year, nearly 23 million subscribers have turned away from the platform following its loss of rights to broadcast the Indian Premier League (IPL).

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Contrarily, Disney+ core subscriber count (excluding Hotstar) saw a 7% increase in the quarter, reaching 112.6 million. Disney+ Hotstar's average monthly revenue per paying customer also saw an uptick from $0.59 to $0.70. The company credits this rise to a decrease in wholesale subscribers and an increase in ad revenue.

However, Star India, the sports broadcasting unit, experienced a 21% year-on-year decline in revenue for the September quarter. The unit's revenue stood at $92 million, a significant drop from the $116 million reported in the same quarter of the previous year. Profits also fell by 30% to $12 million.

The results surface amid rumors of Disney's plans to offload its business in India. The company has allegedly been in discussions with prominent business figures such as Gautam Adani and Kalanithi Maran. However, media reports indicate that Mukesh Ambani is the leading contender for the acquisition.
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