Hotstar adds offline watching feature for premium content

Hotstar adds offline watching feature for premium content

Earlier Hotstar restricted the download feature to only non-premium and old content

Hotstar

MUMBAI: Hotstar, the leading streaming platform of India has now made the option of offline viewing available for its premium content. While the in-app download feature on rival platforms like Amazon, Netflix has been well received, Star India’s digital arm restricted the download feature to only non-premium and old content.

The facility is available now for both Android and iOS users. It has also enabled support for watching videos in 18:9 aspect ratio, which most of the modern full-screen phones offer. However, it is not clear if the support is also available for premium users.

“Now you can download and watch offline most of your favourite premium shows like Game of Thrones, Friends, Big Bang Theory and many more,” Hotstar Android app changelog noted on Google Play.

Hotstar users will have the option to choose between low, medium, high and full-HD quality to download. However, downloaded premium content on the app will expire within 7 days of the download or 48 hours since the user starts watching it.

Among the number of OTT platforms in India, Hotstar is way ahead in the race. Even streaming giant Netflix admitted that YouTube and Hotstar are till now leaders in the Indian market.