A crucial knockout cricket game between India and New Zealand broke all previous video-on-demand streaming records on Wednesday, sending over 53 million concurrent viewers to Disney’s Hotstar.
The milestone surpassed the previous record of 44 million concurrent viewers set by the Disney-owned streamer earlier this month. In terms of concurrent viewers count, Hotstar now maintains a clear lead over rival Mukesh Ambani-backed Viacom18’s JioCinema, which peaked at 32 million earlier this year.
The milestone also comes at a time when Disney, which broadcasts the ICC Cricket World Cup matches at no cost to viewers in India, is rapidly losing digital subscribers in India and is evaluating the future of the local business. Hotstar lost more than 23 million subscribers in the last one year, according to Disney.
“It’s not just Team India breaking records with their 10th straight win at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Indian fans are also tuning into Disney+ Hotstar in unprecedented numbers. Their incredible passion led us to break the maximum sync record four times during this tournament, setting new benchmarks in live sports streaming. The 5.3 million concurrent viewers for the India vs New Zealand semi-final is more than 1.5 times the combined population of Australia and New Zealand! This milestone is not just a triumph of technology, but a testament to the unwavering support of our viewers,” Sajith Sivanandan, head of Disney+ Hotstar India, said in a statement.
Disney chief executive Bob Iger said earlier this month that the company “would like to stay” in India and is considering its options in the world’s most populous country where its television business continues to turn a profit.
The company has held preliminary talks with a handful of companies, including Ambani’s Indian conglomerate Reliance, as well as a number of private equity giants in recent months as it gathers interest in the India venture, the crown jewel of Fox’s portfolio at a time when the acquired by Disney.
But Star India’s fortunes have changed in recent years amid a declining market condition that forced Iger to turn to core businesses. It also doesn’t help Hotstar that Ambani has poached several top executives from Star India to head Viacom18 and has agreed to spend $3 billion to broadcast the IPL cricket tournament over five years. (Disney also spends about $3 billion on the IPL, but to televise the matches.) Viacom18 counts among its major backers Bodhi Tree, run by former Fox executives Uday Shankar and James Murdoch.
Disney had high hopes from the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup. The global streamer predicted to marketers that it can reach over 50 million concurrent viewers at the tournament and reach 82% of total annual video users in India during the nearly 50-day series, according to a 53-page internal slide that reviewed by TechCrunch.
