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Tag: Disney +Hotstar

  • Are OTT players finding a sweet spot for pricing?

    Are OTT players finding a sweet spot for pricing?

    KOLKATA: A recent report from Kantar spoke about the massive surge in SVoD growth in urban India. Hence, it is clear that Indians have started loosening the purse strings for premium online content. As there is no single right pricing for a diverse audience, OTT players are adopting innovative pricing strategies. Experimentation in subscription packages seems to be the latest trend among both international and homegrown streaming services. However, they might have found a sweet spot below Rs 500 to woo the users, at least for now.

    Streaming giant Netflix has become more aggressive about international markets since its growth in the home market started saturating. Realising the nature of the local market, it ignited the experimentation with pricing last year while announcing the Rs 199 per month mobile-only package. The platform recently started testing a low-cost HD plan at Rs 349 per month which allows accessing the service on a mobile, tablet, laptop and desktop but not on TV. If Netflix rolls out the subscription plan, the platform will have plans ranging from Rs 199 to Rs 799. Nevertheless, it remains most expensive among all players. 

    On the other hand, ZEE5 has also taken a creative stance to lure in and hold on to subscribers. It has launched ZEE5 Club at Rs 365/year. It offers exclusive access to most popular shows before telecast on TV, ZEE5 originals apart from select ZEE5 and ALTBalaji shows, blockbuster movies, ZEE Zindagi shows and several live TV channels. Significantly, it comes at almost one-third price of its premium pack.

    “This is a fabulous time for consumer acquisition both from getting people on OTT platforms as well as to convert from free to subscription. Typically, water is being tested around different pricing. If you ask Hollywood or western content, you are being priced at a certain level. The OTT platforms are offering premium Indian content at Rs 300-400 range. Most players are staying in that range because that range seems suitable for acquisition,” Deloitte India media and entertainment partner and leader Jehil Thakkar said. He also added that it creates a psychological barrier beyond Rs 500 while below the range of Rs 300-400 it would be possibly considered too low.

    The leader in the pack had slightly altered its pricing during the rebranding of the service. While Disney+ started its journey in India, it also launched Disney+ Hotstar VIP plan at Rs 399 per month which does not give the user access to the platform’s entire library but to movies like The Lion King, Frozen II, Aladdin, Toy Story 4, and several others along with Bollywood movies and Indian content. Initially, Hotstar VIP was priced at Rs 365 annually.

    However, SonyLIV has significantly increased its pricing. The platform which refined its service recently with a new logo and premium originals took up its monthly plan to Rs 299 from Rs 99. It also increased the value of its other packs. 

    PwC India Entertainment partner media and sports advisory leader Raman Kalra says that some OTT players had packages below the bracket of Rs 300-400 and some with a much higher package, but now the middle range is becoming the sweet spot. He also mentions that it is the beginning of a series of price experimentation. Thakkar also says that as the major players are now in customer acquisition spree, competitive pricing will continue.

  • Netflix’s reinvigorated strategy for the next decade & India’s growing role

    Netflix’s reinvigorated strategy for the next decade & India’s growing role

    KOLKATA: Netflix wants to be the ‘best friend’, the primary choice of streamers across the world. While the streaming rat race is picking up internationally, Netflix is moving fast and expanding its content mix. It has moved on from only focusing on scripted episodic originals to also strive to replicate the success of premium TV in unscripted content, movies and animation. This, for Netflix, is the “next decade” of opportunities.

    “We are so excited about the next decade of Netflix growth. We've definitely got a good start, but the opportunity across the next decade is just amazing for us. It's a lot international but I couldn't be more excited about it, and it will be great to have some help as we expand the globe, and I'm looking forward to that.  And to be totally clear, I'm in for a decade. And as co-CEO, it's two of us full time. It's not like a part-time deal. So it's definitely broadening the management team and help us grow even faster over the next 10 years,” Netflix co-founder and co-CEO Reed Hastings said as he named chief content officer Ted Sarandos as co-CEO.

    Is Netflix in the next ten years the same compared to the last years? Hastings said in an earnings call after Q2 results that it has got a good model for the next ten years and just need to make it better. Netflix has historically spent most of its money on content but it is also working on making the service better, more user-friendly with a smarter UI.

    “A couple of years ago, we only had a premium TV. And now to be really good in movies, to be really good in unscripted, emerging in animation, very strong in local language shows and series, I mean it's an incredible expansion that Ted has pulled off over the last five years. So think of it as just us doing more of that at a higher scale and pleasing more people,” he added. 

    Sarandos, the content king at Netflix said that if the platform aims to be the go-to destination for entertainment, it would not be a smart move to ignore the area of programming that dominates broadcast. Hence, it has been dabbling in unscripted reality. Notably, Netflix has significantly spoken more of animated content in the last one year which is the best weapon of its rival Disney+.

    Hastings said that the content team is coming up with some big bets. “We want to have so many hits that when you come to Netflix, you can just go from hit to hit to hit and never have to think about any of those other services, right? We want to be like your primary, your best friend, the one you turn to. And of course, occasionally, there's Hamilton and you're going to go to someone else's service for an extraordinary film. But for the most part, we want to be the one that just always please you with the convenience, simple and easy choice,” Hastings said.

    Despite leading the streaming revolution, competition is going to be the biggest challenge for the pioneer in the next ten years with deep-pocket rivals like Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max and Peacock having entered the market. Even more of the traditional networks are now pulling off content from Netflix for their digital arms causing a big dent in the library as the evergreen popular shows still attract eyeballs.

    As the US market gets overcrowded with large-scale contenders, Netflix is going to focus highly on international markets. “When I think about what our future is and I think it's just a tremendous next stage of growth that we will see mostly coming from outside the United States. So think of more and more employees outside the United States, more productions, more operations happening outside the US and hopefully, many, many more members outside the US. This is an opportunity to lean in just a little bit more, be proactive and drive a little bit more alignment across those activities where we think alignment will benefit the business and push the optimisation of those activities a little bit more,” Netflix COO and chief product officer Gregory Peters said.

    Meanwhile, Netflix has already set its eye on the largest growing OTT market – India.  It set an audacious goal of getting its next 100 million subscribers from the country. This is a tougher market to crack given the local rivals alongside Disney+ Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video. In the last quarter, it has added less than three million paid subscribers from the entire APAC region. However, despite the slow growth, Netflix is increasing investment here. A few days ago, it announced 17 new local originals. As the Netflix bosses embrace the excitement for the coming 10 years, reinvigorated content strategy and international expansion can save it from the dwindling position of once-undisputed streaming king and definitely there will more spending to get Indian audiences.

  • Whistling Woods International to stream short films made by its students on Disney+ Hotstar

    Whistling Woods International to stream short films made by its students on Disney+ Hotstar

    MUMBAI: Whistling Woods International (WWI), film, communication, and creative arts institute, announced its collaboration with Disney+ Hotstar. With this association, viewers of Disney+ Hotstar can now stream entertaining and thought-provoking short films created by the students of WWI. Over the coming weeks, selected films will be uploaded on the platform on a regular basis and will be available to viewers under the ‘short films’ section. Newly uploaded films can also be found in the ‘what's new’ section.

    Through a unique teaching methodology, which combines academic rigour with practical experience, the students of WWI receive an unrivalled education in film, communication, and creative arts. This experience has seen the institute’s students and alumni contribute immensely to India’s media and entertainment domain, and led to the creation of several highly-acclaimed, award-winning films, many of which have been chosen to be featured on the platform.

    Covering a wide range of genres and topics, the short films to appear include Alaksha, a fast-paced drama set against the backdrop of the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai and winner of The Perfect 10 award at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, 2018; Hoop Diaries, a 2014 sports drama centred around the story of a girl overcoming a deeply personal trauma; Manorath, inspired by Rabindranath Tagore’s short story ‘The Postmaster’ and winner of the Best Screenplay award at the Pune International Film Festival, 2015, among others.

    WWI president Meghna Ghai Puri said, “Whistling Woods International is extremely proud to announce its association with Disney+ Hotstar. Through this venture, viewers across India can choose inspiring and thought-provoking films created by our talented students. By providing a platform to these aspiring filmmakers, to be able to showcase their work, we hope to inspire future generations of artists to pursue their dreams, and follow the institute's motto of Do What You Love.”

    Other films which have already been featured on Disney+ Hostar include Film City, Kanchey, Aalav and 500 Rupay, which has received seven awards, 6.5 million YouTube views and a nomination in Filmfare.

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  • SonyLIV 2.0 seeks to refresh through new-age, youthful vibe

    SonyLIV 2.0 seeks to refresh through new-age, youthful vibe

    KOLKATA: While the lockdown demotivated many, it did not stop OTT platform SonyLIV from taking a bold stop. With new content in-store, SonyLIV is reviving itself as SonyLIV 2.0. A new team which took up the role to lead the platform last year has reimagined the transformation. As the streaming war in India continues with Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, ZEE5 and MX Player being leading names, the rebranding is likely to give leverage.

    “We wanted to become more new-age, youthful, user-friendly. That was one thing which we wanted to say through the new logo design. Secondly, the V of LIV also resembles the tick mark. So, the entire design came from the fact that this is the right choice of entertainment,” said SPN digital business marketing head Aman Srivastava. The new logo emphasises the ‘liv’ part in a bright yellow colour in contrast to a colourful background with streaks of purple, blue and orange.

    Srivastava said they are informing existing customers about new content through notifications and emailers. Moreover, there is a way to interact with these consumers on the app itself. Apart from that, he adds that SonyLIV has been present on all digital and audiovisual platforms which provides it with the right kind of target audience including its network channels, major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. He added that SonyLIV was always well-played from a distribution point of view as its available across devices, platforms and telecom players. 

    He is also confident about customer retention even after the lockdown easing as it will have new content every week. Moreover, he added that live sports has also started and the sports fans are coming in and there might even be some more new sports content. As television shootings have resumed, catch-up content will also come back. Together, original, live sports, catch-up content will keep subscribers engaged. 

    Just after the launch, SPN digital business and SET content head Ashish Golwalkar said that it would start the journey with Hindi and English content. Although the English library has always been heavy of the streaming platform, it has now collaborated with the best creative minds of the country for good local content. 

    “Currently, we are starting with Hindi and English content. In English content, we have content from Sony Pictures Television, our own studio. We have acquired some content from ITV and NBC. We have an existing Lionsgate library. We have a rich rapporteur of English content. Now, we are launching with Your Honour. We will launch five shows in the next two months.  We have content planned for Hindi, Marathi and English. We have very enriching content from TVF as well,” he said.

    Golwalkar admitted that the space is highly competitive but even then he feels there is a lot of space for content in certain genres like comedy or content that is Indian in approach. According to him, there is not much content in the genre. The online content that is coming from India is revolving around crime, thriller and dark subjects. There are a lot of other stories that can be told and that will allow SonyLIV to create a niche for itself. He added that they would be launching around 15-20 originals in the next 12 months. Some of the content can be dubbed in major regional languages in the coming days.

    The first original with which the rebranded platform started the journey was Your Honor, Created by Applause Entertainment. Deepak Segal, the content head of Applause Entertainment said that it is one of format among six which were acquired from Israel. The show was first adapted and produced by it and then SonyLIV was approached. It has three shows coming up on SonyLIV.

  • Disney+ Hotstar announces ‘Home Dancer’ online dance competition

    Disney+ Hotstar announces ‘Home Dancer’ online dance competition

    MUMBAI: Premium streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar has announced a first-of-its-kind online dance competition: Home Dancer. As people across India remain confined to their homes, Disney+ Hotstar is gearing up to offer a unique opportunity for dance lovers to showcase their moves from the comfort of their homes. Within the first week of the show’s announcement, Disney+ Hotstar has received thousands of submissions, far surpassing what an on-ground show would achieve in terms of entries, encompassing participants across age groups and regions. While most submissions have come from the younger generation (below 30 years), there has also been a great response from people in the age groups of 30 years and above. The show has not only received several entries from metros but also from smaller cities and towns such as Banswara, Jhunjhunu, Bhilwara, showing that India is full of budding talent. Disney+Hotstar will air the pilot episode of Home Dancer on 25th May.

    The show will feature an exciting celebrity line-up and selected performances from the best entertainers in India. Bollywood star Jacqueline Fernandez will launch Home Dancer, which will be hosted by popular television actor Karan Wahi.

    Acclaimed choreographers, Chandni Srivastava and Chetan Salunke of Dance+ fame, will be the judges of the show.

    Home Dancer, which will air bi-weekly, is the first online competition of its kind in India that allows viewers to vote for their favorite entries.   Spanning a period of five weeks, there will be a cash prize of INR 4 lakhs up for grabs every week.

    Disney+ Hotstar spokesperson said, “We are thrilled to announce the launch of Home Dancer as part of our endeavor to offer interactive and innovative ways to connect with our viewers while we continue to stay at home. We are glad to receive participation from metros and non-metros while tapping into a diverse set of audiences and cultures”

    To be able to participate in the campaign, interested viewers can login to the Disney+ Hotstar app, select the theme of the week and choose any one of the 10 pre-loaded tracks to submit their respective 60-90-second dance videos on the microsite. The first week’s theme is #LockdownDanceUp. After receiving the entry submissions, the judges will shortlist the top 10 entries. Every week two episodes will be released on Disney+ Hotstar wherein the shortlisted performances will be featured in an episode, following which voting lines will be open for two days. Thereafter, in the follow-up episode, the contestant with the maximum number of votes will be announced the winner of Home Dancer for the week.

    Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez shared, “I’m extremely happy that Disney+ Hotstar has launched Home Dancer, to connect with their audiences as we continue to stay quarantined. What appealed to me is that it caters to both – dance lovers as it gives their talent the stage it deserves and viewers, who are always eager to watch fresh content.”

    Actor and host Karan Wahi said, “I’m thrilled to host Home Dancer. I urge all viewers to put their best foot forward and participate in the show while others can lend their support by voting for their favourites”

    Chandni Srivastava said, “The lockdown has encouraged brands to think out of the box and I am truly excited to be associated with such a unique show format. As a judge, I can’t wait to witness the talent and love for dance that people have in our country. I’m looking forward to new learnings and a fun-filled experience.”

    Home Dancer will be an exciting and a super fun addition to Disney+ Hotstar’s offering of high-quality free content, which includes daily catch-up TV shows in 8 Indian languages, a vast library of blockbuster movies and LIVE and on-demand news in 8 languages from the country’s leading news channels. It also features comprehensive sports clips covering major sporting events, such as the IPL, BCCI cricket series, Premier League, ISL and PKL, with all the exciting action from the day available as match highlights, key individual performances and match analysis.

  • Disney+ Hotstar could garner 25% of total online video revenue pie by 2025

    Disney+ Hotstar could garner 25% of total online video revenue pie by 2025

    MUMBAI: Disney+ Hotstar could have 25 per cent of the total online video revenue pie by 2025, second only to YouTube, according to Media Partners Asia (MPA) projections for India’s online video sector.

    Such growth will be dependent on a number of key factors and growth levers, including:

    1.   The platform must sustain and accelerate the pace of its investment in product innovation, content creation and acquisition as well as retain its key sports rights in order to grow subscribers, drive viewership and stay ahead of aggressive global and local competition.

    2.   Develop new features and services including gaming & the aggregation of more local live and on-demand content as Disney+ Hotstar consolidates its position in the industry as the leading video platform for premium entertainment & sports.

    3.   Expand its technology and potentially brand to Southeast Asia, including large-scale emerging markets such as Indonesia and Thailand.

    Disney+ Hotstar could reach 93 million paying subscribers by 2025 at monthly ARPUs under US$1, as per MPA’s base case analysis. This equates to US$587 million in subscription revenue by 2025 while advertising sales could reach US$314 million. MPA’s advertising sales assumptions are volatile due to a challenging 2020 and the uncertainty on the sports calendar in the outer years over 2024-25. MPA analysis excludes any impact from new services such as gaming or expansion to Southeast Asia.

    Revenues will contract in 2020 because of the impact of Covid2019 on the advertising market with TV bearing the brunt while digital video will also come under pressure. Disney+ Hotstar’s advertisement packages are typically bundled with TV and this year is no exception.

    Meanwhile, subscription through 1H 2020 has benefited from the launch of Disney+ in April. Despite the absence of the popular IPL cricket tournament, Disney+ has contributed meaningfully to premium tier subscriber growth. As a result, the Disney+ Hotstar platform has remained churn positive through the 1H 2020 period, according to MPA analysis.

    Impact of Disney+ launch

    Disney+ arrived in India in March 2020 at a huge discount to its global price. Since launch, the service has seen traction across Disney+ Hotstar’s premium segment where Disney brand awareness (i.e. Marvel shows and movies) is high. In the larger, more mass VIP segment, there are caches of the Disney content (i.e. kids), which have found traction.

    Pricing strategy

    Pricing, content mix and tech are key pillars of the Disney+ Hotstar strategy. Pricing has been important given that India’s large pay-TV universe only pays US$4 per month for a wide range of live TV channels, including sports and entertainment. Low ARPUs do not justify shorter duration packs. Therefore, the key to creating an online subscription business at scale was always anchored towards annual offers at attractive rates, in line with Hotstar’s SVOD strategy prior to 2020.

    Netflix, for instance, has introduced a low-cost mobile pricing strategy to cater to the mass market, which has driven net additions since Q4 2020. MPA estimates that Netflix reached almost four million subscribers at end-April 2020 with significant growth across its mobile tier. Disney+ Hotstar’s major differentiation has been its vast aggregation of premium local and international entertainment and sports, driving its present-day addressable market to 100 million + subscribers.

    Quantifying Disney+ benefits. MPA estimates indicate that Disney+ is contributing 20 per cent to Hotstar’s premium subscribers in total with upside potential of 25-30 per cent. On the VIP side, the seeds are being sowed for a more bountiful harvest, but we estimate that Disney+ has already contributed to 20-30 per cent higher volumes. Last year in 1H 2019, Hotstar had launched its VIP service in conjunction with the IPL. This year, without IPL, bolstered by Disney+, new local originals (i.e. Special Ops), and a massive library of local & international content, Disney+ Hotstar remains churn positive.

    Marketing. In the absence of the IPL, marketing has been a challenge, especially because IPL has a reach of 400 million across TV and online (150 million alone on Hotstar on last year’s opening day). This year, Covid2019 has negated the impact of outdoor and print media. Digital platforms remain even more critical, and Disney+ Hotstar has relied heavily on digital marketing and Star’s own television network for targeted awareness building.

    Technology

    Hotstar’s tech and product has evolved considerably since its launch. Hotstar first launched in 2015 when it was owned by 21st Century Fox, a simpler time when online video only generated US$135 million in revenue and was almost entirely dominated by YouTube while the TV industry generated US$7.5 billion in revenue, including advertising and subscription. Today, internet video is on track to generate US$1.4 billion in India while TV is maturing at US$10 billion.

    Hotstar’s product tech was initially built to deliver professional, high-quality curated content at scale. Its first cricket broadcast of an India vs Pakistan cricket match in January 2015 generated five million CCUs. By 2019, cricket matches on Hotstar were generating CCUs of 25 million+. In addition, Hotstar originally had to contend with ubiquitous mobile phone distribution with different specs and varying quality along with data pricing. The latter was prohibitive back in 2015 though it has become more affordable now due to a Jio-led transformation.

    Subsequently, after Disney’s acquisition, Hotstar has grown personalization and search functionality as the platform has invested towards scaling its premium entertainment proposition. With the launch of Disney+, Hotstar has further retooled its platform UI and backend tech. Meanwhile, social media interactivity is growing on the platform across live sports and is set to be extended to entertainment soon.

  • Jacqueline Fernandez invites India to dance with Disney+Hotstar’s ‘Home Dancer’

    Jacqueline Fernandez invites India to dance with Disney+Hotstar’s ‘Home Dancer’

    MUMBAI: Disney+ Hotstar, India’s largest premium streaming platform, has roped in Bollywood star Jacqueline Fernandez to launch a first-of-its-kind online dance competition – Home Dancer. As people across India remain confined to their homes, Disney+ Hotstar is gearing up to offer a unique opportunity for dance lovers to showcase their moves from the comfort of their homes.

    Karan Wahi, popular TV celebrity and youth icon, will bring his infectious humour and energy to the show as its host. With the premier of the pilot episode slated for 25th May, Disney+ Hotstar is gearing up to motivate the dancer within you to find the stage that it truly deserves. Get ready to dance away your lockdown bluesas submissions begin from today. While sharing their excitement, Jacqueline Fernandez and Karan Wahi urged viewers across India to put on their dancing shoes and participate in Home Dancer.

    For details: https://homedancer.hotstar.com

    Bollywood star Jacqueline Fernandez said: “I am elated to launch Disney+ Hotstar’s unique dance competition, Home Dancer. As a fitness enthusiast, dance gives me an adrenaline rush while also working as a form of therapy for my body, mind and soul. This show offers dance enthusiasts a platform to showcase their talent from the comfort of their homes to millions of viewers. As we try and cope with the new realities of social distancing, it is a great time to unleash our creative instincts and dance our way to coveted prizes on ‘Home Dancer’ every week.”

    Excited to be a part of the show, Karan Wahi added: “While I have hosted iconic dance shows in the past, I’m extremely excited to host Disney+ Hotstar’s ‘Home Dancer’ because I haven’t done anything like this before. We’re all adjusting to spending a lot of time with family and doing domestic chores while we’re stuck at home. We desperately need outlets of expression and Home Dancer is just that opportunity. Dance is such a big part of our culture, and this show will draw you in with its raw appeal.”

    To participate in the show, participants can login to the Disney+ Hotstar app, select the theme of the week and choose any one of the pre-loaded tracks to submit their respective 60-90-second dance videos on the microsite. Viewers will be given the chance to vote for the winners. Spanning a period of five weeks, there will be a cash prize of Rs 4 lakh up for grabs every week.

  • Hotstar brings some cheer to Disney numbers

    Hotstar brings some cheer to Disney numbers

    BENGALURU: Covid2019 has hit most businesses and hard! Events, including all the sporting ones, have been cancelled globally. Ad and other revenues have been impacted for media companies. The Walt Disney Company (Disney) had a steep fall in diluted earnings per share (EPS) in the quarter ended 28 March 2020 (Q2 2020, quarter under review) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter. The company reported a 63 percent fall in diluted adjusted EPS to $0.60 in Q2 2020 versus $1.61 in the corresponding year ago quarter. Diluted EPS from continuing operations for the quarter under review decreased 93 percent to $0.26 from $3.53 in the prior-year quarter.

    Disney has four segments: Media Networks, parks, experiences and products (Parks), studio entertainment and direct-to-consumer (DTC) and international.

    Disney said in an earnings press release for Q2 2020, “The impact of Covid2019 and measures to prevent its spread are affecting our segments in a number of ways, most significantly at parks, experiences and products where we have closed our theme parks and retail stores, suspended cruise ship sailings and guided tours and experienced supply chain disruptions. In addition, we have delayed, or in some cases, shortened or cancelled theatrical releases and suspended stage play performances at studio entertainment and have seen advertising sales impacts at media networks and direct-to-consumer and International. We have experienced disruptions in the production and availability of content, including the cancellation or deferral of certain sports events and suspension of production of most film and television content. Many of these businesses have been closed consistent with government mandates or guidance. We estimate the Covid2019 impact on operating income at our parks, experiences and products segment was approximately $1 billion primarily due to revenue lost as a result of the closures. In total, we estimate that the Covid2019 impacts on our current quarter income from continuing operations before income taxes across all of our businesses was as much as $1.4 billion, inclusive of the impact at the parks, experiences and products segment. Impacts at our other segments include lower advertising revenue at media networks and direct-to-consumer and international driven by a decrease in viewership in the current quarter reflecting Covid2019’s impact on live sports events and higher bad debt expense and a loss of revenue at studio entertainment due to theater and stage play closures.”

    Total revenues for Q2 2020 increased 21 percent Y-o-Y to $18,009 million from $14,922 million in Q2 2019. Total segment operating income declined 37 percent Y-o-Y in the quarter to $2,416 million from $3,816 million. Disney’s OTT Platform Disney+ includes Indian OTT platform Hotstar. Disney+ Hotstar is a part of Disney’s direct-to consumer and international segment and Disney+ Hotstar helped alleviate a bit of the drop in numbers according to the company. Disney+ average monthly revenue per user at $5.63 was higher than ESPN’s $4.24 and about 47 percent of Hulu SVOD only at $12.06  in Q2 2020, The company estimates that it had 54.5 million Disney+ subscribers as of 4 May 2020.

    “Disney+ launched in a number of European markets during the quarter, which contributed to a total paid subscriber base of $33.5 million at the end of the quarter. And we are very pleased with the success of our rollout in Western Europe and India, including the execution of previously announced deals with some European platforms to distribute the service to all paid subscribers on certain of the widely distributed tiers and in India to convert our pre-existing subscription based Hotstar service to Disney+ Hotstar, revealed senior executive vice president and chief financial officer Christine M McCarth during an investor call.

    Parks, experiences and products

    The largest drop in absolute numbers was from Disney’s Parks segment, followed by a steep increase in operating loss from Disney’s DTC and international segment. Parks' segment operating revenue and segment income declined 10 percent and 58 percent respectively. Disney reported revenue of $5,543 million for Q2 2020 and $6,171 million for Q2 2019 from the Parks segment. Income from the segment was $639 million in Q2 2020 and $1,506 million in Q2 2019.

    “As you know, Disney, like many other companies, has experienced widespread disruption. In mid-March, we closed our domestic parks and hotels indefinitely, suspended our cruise line, halted film and TV productions and shuttered our retail stores. And while these were necessary steps to ensure the safety and well-being of our guests and employees, our businesses have been hugely impacted,” said Disney CEO Bob Chapek.

    “While it's too early to predict when we'll be able to begin resuming all of our operations, we are evaluating a number of different scenarios to ensure a cautious, sensible and deliberate approach to the eventual reopening of our parks. We will take a phased approach with limits on attendance using an advanced reservation and entry system, controlled guest density using social distancing and strict government required health and prevention procedures. These include the use of masks, temperature screenings and other contact tracing and early detection systems," revealed Chapek.

    Disney’s direct-to consumer and international

    Disney’s DTC and International segment operating revenue increased more than threefold (increased 260 percent) y-o-y in Q2 2020 to $4,123 million from $1,145 million in Q 2019. However, loss from the segment more than doubled (increased 111 percent) in Q2 2020 to $812 million from $385 million. Average monthly revenue per user (AMRPU) from Disney+ in Q2 2020 was $5.63. AMRPU for other contributors to Disney’s direct-to consumer and international segment numbers are:

    ESPN ARMPU $4.24 in Q2 2020 versus $5.13 in Q2 2019, a drop of 17 percent; Hulu SVOD only ARMPU $12.06 in Q2 2020, which was 5 percent lower than $12.73 in Q2 2020 and Hulu Live TV + SVOD ARMPU which increased 29 percent in Q2 2020 to $67.75 from $52.58 in Q2 2019.

    The company says that the increase in operating loss from its DTC and International segment was due to costs associated with the launch of Disney+ and the consolidation of Hulu. Results for the quarter under review also reflected a benefit from the inclusion of the TFCF businesses due to income at the international channels, including Star.

    “Results at our DTC businesses had an adverse impact on the year-over-year change in segment operating income of about $500 million which came in a little better than the guidance we provided last quarter. We expect our DTC and International segment to generate about $1.1 billion in operating losses for the third quarter and we expect the continued investment in our DTC services, in particular, Disney+ to drive an adverse impact on the year-over-year change in operating income of our DTC businesses of approximately $420 million, revealed McCarth to investors.

    Media Networks

    Disney’s largest segment is media networks which comprises of 2 sub-segments – cable networks and broadcasting.

    Media networks segment saw revenue increase 28 percent Y-o-Y in Q2 2020 to $7,257 million from $5,683 million in Q2 2019. Operating Income increased 7 percent Y-o-Y to $2,375 million from $2,230 million. Cable networks sub-segment revenue increased 17 percent Y-o-Y to $ 4,445 million from $3,793 million in Q2 2019. Cable networks operating income increased 1 percent to $1,799 million from $1,789 million. Disney says that the increase in cable networks operating income was due to the consolidation of TFCF businesses (primarily the FX and National Geographic networks), partially offset by a decrease at ESPN, and to a lesser extent, the Domestic Disney Channels and Freeform. The decrease at ESPN was due to higher programming and production costs and lower advertising revenue, partially offset by higher affiliate revenue

    Broadcasting revenue increased 49 percent Y-o-Y to $2,812 million from $1,890 million. Broadcasting operating income increased 53 percent in Q2 2020 to $397 million from $259 million. Disney says that the increase in operating income was due to the consolidation of TFCF, largely reflecting program sales, and to a lesser extent, an increase at its legacy operations

    Studio entertainment

    Studio entertainment segment revenue increased 18 percent in Q2 2020 to $2,539 million from $2,137 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. Studio entertainment operating income declined 8 percent in the quarter to $466 million from $506 million. Disney says the decrease in operating income was due to lower results at its legacy operations, partially offset by the consolidation of the TFCF businesses. The decrease at Disney’s legacy operations was due to higher film impairments and decreases in theatrical distribution and stage play results, partially offset by an increase from TV/SVOD distribution

    Confident about the future

    “While the Covid2019 pandemic has had an appreciable financial impact on a number of our businesses, we are confident in our ability to withstand this disruption and emerge from it in a strong position,” said Chapek. “Disney has repeatedly shown that it is exceptionally resilient, bolstered by the quality of our storytelling and the strong affinity consumers have for our brands, which is evident in the extraordinary response to Disney+ since its launch last November.”

  • DISNEY+ HOTSTAR COMMISSIONS 234 EPISODES OF COSMOS-MAYA’S SELFIE WITH BAJRANGI

    DISNEY+ HOTSTAR COMMISSIONS 234 EPISODES OF COSMOS-MAYA’S SELFIE WITH BAJRANGI

    India’s largest premium streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar has commissioned an unprecedented 234 episodes of Cosmos-Maya’s hit animated series Selfie With Bajrangi. The multi-season deal will see Cosmos-Maya produce three series of 78 x 11’ episodes for Disney+ Hotstar which has 400 million viewers, eight million paying subscribers and additional library content from Disney+, making it the most prolific OTT platform in India both in terms of subscribers and content.   

    Selfie With Bajrangi, which has been running on Disney India’s Pay TV properties since September 2018, is one of Disney India’s most popular shows with significant reach and is aired daily on primetime slots of India’s Disney Channel and Disney Hungama. It recently became the first Indian animated kids’ series to feature on a leading general entertainment channel via Star Plus.

    Selfie With Bajrangi’s launch on Disney+ Hotstar coincides with Disney+’s launch in India, and the show is being aired in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages. 

    Anish Mehta, CEO Cosmos-Maya, said on the development: “Bajrangi has brought together Disney+ Hotstar and Cosmos-Maya for a multi-season contract and we couldn’t be more excited. An unheard of 234 half-hours of the show spread across three seasons will be aired on Disney+ Hotstar, with Season 2 already live on the platform. This is the first highly popular kids’ domestic series that they have onboarded with a two-year vision to further increase its popularity. Selfie With Bajrangi has the ability to speak to audiences with its novel, yet relatable storytelling. It brings to the fore a very important message: that friendships built in the face of adversity last a lifetime.”

    Selfie With Bajrangi is modeled on kids’ day to day lives and beautifully captures the nuances of Indian culture with relatable storylines. In the show, the protagonist Ankush's life changes when he meets Bajrangi, the nine-year-old child version of the Indian God Hanuman in a contemporary setting, who no one but Ankush can see. Bajrangi accompanies Ankush everywhere and helps his buddy with his day to day problems. Together, they face the adversities life throws at them, in the process helping entertain and comfort the millions of kids who watch the show.

    Cosmos-Maya is Asia’s leading kids’ animation studio with 18 series on air globally and a 60% domestic market share in India.