The Coronavirus outbreak has created a major disruption in the world, including all segments of media and entertainment besides cancellation of major events. And it seems like Disney+ fans in India have to wait a little longer!
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the launch of Disney+ in India has been stalled. Slated to debut in India on 29 March via Hotstar, the launch has been paused temporarily and the new date has not been revealed yet.
The Walt Disney Company APAC president, Star and Disney India chairman Uday Shankar said in an official statement, “We recently announced that Disney+ would launch in India through the Hotstar service in conjunction with the beginning of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket season. Given the delay of the season, we have made the decision to briefly pause the roll-out of Disney+, and will announce a new revised premiere date for the service soon.”
After a successful first few months of its domestic launch, Disney+ is now gearing up for its international expansion. Former Disney CEO Bob Iger earlier mentioned in an earnings call after Q1 result, that it would be launching the service in India through Hotstar on 29 March at the beginning of the IPL.
He wanted Disney+ to leverage the success of Hotstar in India by bundling the two services. During IPL 2019 , Hotstar registered more than 300 million users. Now with the postponement of IPL 2020, the fate of Disney+ has sure been uncertain in India for sometime now.
