ICC Men's World Cup And Asia Cup To Stream Free On Disney's Hotstar
Disney+ Hotstar on Friday said all mobile phone users would be able to watch Asia Cup and ICC Men's Cricket World Cup tournaments for free. JioCinema started showing IPL 2023 for free, which benefited it and instantly they attracted bunch of users. Last month JioCinema announced premium pricing of ₹999 per year, that its first step to moving away from a free content model to fight rivals such as Netflix and Disney. But now this war between the two OTT players seems to be beneficial for the users.
The move to lift the paywall for mobile-only viewers of both, the Asia Cup and the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, is aimed at further democratizing the game of cricket and making it accessible to as many mobile users in India as possible for the duration of the season. More than 540 million smartphone users across India will have the opportunity to watch the Asia Cup and ICC Men's Cricket World Cup for free.
“Disney+ Hotstar has remained at the forefront of the rapidly evolving OTT industry in India and the various innovations we have introduced to continue enhancing the viewer experience has allowed us to delight our audiences across the region. 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.
Disney+ Hotstar has created strong viewership momentum for cricket properties, with successful tournaments including the Asia Cup 2022, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, and ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023. The recently concluded India vs Sri Lanka, India vs New Zealand as well as India vs Australia tournaments also fared well for the platform.
