Disney+ Hotstar Tries To Halt JioCinema's Advance By Offering Cricket World Cup And Asia Cup For Free

As teams from across India went head to head during the Indian Premier League, broadcasters Disney+ Hotstar and Reliance JioCinema were also competing for viewers. After the BCCI split broadcasting rights for the first time giving TV rights to Dinsney+ Hotstar and digital rights to JioCinema, both clocked record breaking viewership.

After losing IPL's digital rights and HBO shows to Jio, Disney+ Hotstar has now unveiled free viewing for Asia Cup and ICC Men's Cricket World Cup to attract traffic.

Trying to bring sports fan back

The move that follows Reliance JioCinema's move to offer IPL and the FIFA World Cup for free, will scale up access for cricket fans.

It will be available for mobile-only users, and people with tablets will also be able to watch games for free.

Disney+ Hotstar was the leader when it came to premium OTT consumption with a 38 per cent market share in 2022.

Hit by Jio's rise

Sports tournaments offered by the platform accounted for a bulk of the viewership apart from Hindi shows and movies.

But the rise of Reliance JioCinema disrupted things, as Disney+ Hotstar lost 8.4 million subscribers since October 2022, and may lose more as JioCinema is offering shows such as Game of Thrones and Succession.