Disney Hotstar adds 8 million subscribers within a week

Disney's video on-demand streaming service Disney Plus (Disney+) has garnered approximately 8 million paid subscribers for its Disney+ Hotstar video streaming service in India in just one week of arrival.

Disney on April 3 launched Disney Plus (Disney+) in India via Hotstar, a popular on-demand video platform, at a starting price of Rs 399 a year.

The company announced it has now surpassed 50 million paid subscribers globally.

"We are truly humbled that Disney+ is resonating with millions around the globe, and believe this bodes well for our continued expansion throughout Western Europe and into Japan and all of Latin America later this year," said Kevin Mayer, Chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International.

"Great storytelling inspires and uplifts, and we are in the fortunate position of being able to deliver a vast array of great entertainment rooted in joy and optimism on Disney+," Mayer added.

Disney+ originally set a target of 60 million to 90 million subscribers by the end of fiscal 2024, when it was first launched in the US in November.

Disney+ amassed 26.5 million subscribers during the first quarter of 2020 in February. The new numbers indicate that Disney+ added 21.4 million subscribers in just over two months.

Netflix, the leader in the segment, announced that it has reached 167 million global subscribers in January.

Disney+ has also been rolled out in eight Western European countries, including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria and Switzerland.

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