Disney+ gets a confirmed launch date for India

Users won’t have to download a separate app to watch movies and other content on Disney+. The service will come as a part of the Hotstar app, which is also owned by Disney.

An introductory page on the Disney+ website is displayed on a computer screen. Disney+, that hit more than 10 million sign-ups on its first day of launch, is scheduled to launch in India on March 29. It will come as a part of the Hotstar package. (A)

Disney+, the new subscription platform that aims to rival Netflix, Amazon Prime and others had a good Q4 2019 as per the Sensor Tower report. And like any other streaming platform, it is also planning to expand the service in India. While the exact launch time frame was not a clear one for now, the company gave March 29 as the concrete date for the first time during its Q1 2020 earnings call. The news comes from Robert Iger, chairman and CEO of Disney.

Users won't have to download a separate app to watch movies and other content on Disney+. The service will come as a part of the Hotstar app, which is also owned by Disney. "We're also excited to announce that we will be launching Disney Plus in India through our Hotstar service on March 29, at the beginning of the Indian Premier League Cricket season," said Iger during the call.

The firm will also be rebranding the existing Hotstar VIP and Premium subscription tiers to Disney Plus Hotstar. "We see this as a great opportunity to use the proven platform of Hotstar to launch the new Disney Plus service in one of the most populous countries and fastest-growing economies in the world," added Iger.

For now, Hotstar comes with two subscription plans: ₹999 for a year and ₹299 for a month. There's also a Hotstar VIP plan available at ₹365 per year. It is not for sure if these price tiers will change with Disney+ integration or not.

"We're not giving specifics about price at this point, but expect that there'll be two primary products brought into India. One will be more premium in nature that will include the entire library, so with the original programming and the other one will be more basic that will have the library and not the original programming," said Iger.