Disney+ Hotstar is an Indian brand of subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Novi Digital Entertainment of Disney Star and operated by Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, both divisions of The Walt Disney Company.
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Amid the significant growth of mobile broadband in India, Hotstar quickly became the dominant streaming service in the country.
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Disney+ Hotstar is expected to launch in the Philippines in October 2022 and Vietnam in early 2023.
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In Singapore, Canada, and the United Kingdom, Hotstar operates as a streaming service targeting overseas Indians, focusing on Disney Star's domestic entertainment and sports content; Disney+ operates as a standalone service in these markets.
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Hotstar estimated that by 2020, the service could account for nearly a quarter of Star's annual revenue.
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Hotstar generated at least 345 million views throughout the 2015 Cricket World Cup, and approximately over 200 million views during the 2015 Indian Premier League season.
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In March 2019, ahead of the 2019 Indian Premier League, Hotstar migrated existing subscribers of its All Annual Sports plan to a new entry-level plan known as Hotstar VIP.
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Star, and in turn Hotstar, were acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2019, as part of its acquisition of their US parent company 21st Century Fox.
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The Motley Fool described Hotstar as being Disney's "secret weapon" in the market, due to its already-dominant position.
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In June 2020, Hotstar named Sunil Rayan, formerly of Google, as its new president.
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In July 2017, Hotstar gained domestic streaming rights to first-run and library programming from Showtime.
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In October 2018, Hotstar partnered with Hooq to offer its content on its premium service, including rights to films and series from its co-owners Sony Pictures and Warner Bros.
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Hotstar stated that these series would be at least six episodes in length, be available in seven regional languages and focus on providing "big-scale, high-quality drama".
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Hotstar partnered with a large number of Indian filmmakers to produce series for the brand.
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In June 2020, Hotstar announced that it would begin to offer direct-to-streaming premieres of Indian films under the "Disney+ Hotstar Multiplex" banner due to COVID-19-related cinema closures, beginning with Fox Star Studios' Dil Bechara on 24 July 2020, followed by The Big Bull, Lootcase, Khuda Haafiz, Laxmii, Bhuj: The Pride of India, Sadak 2, and Mookuthi Amman.
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Hotstar is available for streaming via supported web browsers, smartphones and tablet computers, as well as apps on digital media players and smart TVs.
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Hotstar allows users to stream on up to four devices concurrently depending on plan, and downloads for offline viewing depending on individual content licenses.
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Hotstar launched an international subscription service in Canada and the United States, aimed towards providing its domestic Indian content and sports.
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Hotstar launched in the United Kingdom on 13 September 2018, to coincide with the 2018 Asia Cup.
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In Indonesia, Hotstar reached content supply agreements with studios such as Falcon Pictures, MD Pictures, Rapi Films, Soraya Intercine Films, Screenplay Films, and Starvision Plus among others, and acquired first-run direct-to-streaming releases .
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In January 2022, Disney+ Hotstar announced that it had acquired rights to WWE Network in Indonesia, with its content and live events becoming available on the platform at no additional charge.
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In February 2020, Hotstar refused to carry an episode that contained segments critical of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, which had alleged that his policy of Hindu nationalism was a growing threat to democracy in India.
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Hotstar placed a larger emphasis on the censorship of Disney references, however, jokingly arguing that he resented the censorship of his "factually accurate" Donald Duck joke more than the Modi episode being pulled.
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