Disney+ Hotstar has announced that mobile users will be able to watch cricket for free on smartphones and tablets in India.
The company will stream live matches of the Asia Cup from August 30, as well as the World Cup, which is being hosted by India, in October and November.
According to Deadline, the strategy is aimed at boosting advertising revenues by increasing the volume of smartphone users accessing the service for free, while at the same time pulling in new subscribers for its paid plans.
“Making the Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup available to a wider audience, we believe, will help us grow the overall eco-system,” said Sajith Sivanandan, Head of Disney+ Hotstar.
Per Deadline, Disney+ Hotstar is Disney’s biggest streaming service globally in terms of users, but started shedding subscribers after losing the Indian Premier League Cricket (IPL) to JioCinema in a $2.9BN deal last year. JioCinema is jointly owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, Paramount Global and James Murdoch and Uday Shankar’s Bodhi Tree Systems.
Source: Deadline