Disney+ launch in India stalled due to IPL delay

Disney+ launch in India stalled due to IPL delay

The new date has not been revealed

Disney+

MUMBAI: COVID-19 pandemic has stalled the entry of Disney+ in India. The scheduled launch of the streaming service has been paused and the new date is yet to be revealed.  

“We recently announced that Disney+ would launch in India through the Hotstar service in conjunction with beginning of the Indian Premier League 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,” the Walt Disney Company APAC President, Star and Disney India Chairman Uday Shankar said.

Former Disney CEO Bob Iger said 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 Indian Premier League. After a successful first few months of its domestic launch, Disney+ is now gearing up for its international expansion. Iger 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.