Disney+ Suffering as Cricket Takes Over in India

Disney+ is Walt Disney’s flagship streaming service and where you can find all their movies, television shows, and cartoons. There is plenty of content to enjoy on the service which can be paid for on a monthly basis. However, things have not been going well for the streaming giant in India. There are a couple of reasons why Disney+ has been suffering in India and despite the fact the Disney brand has nothing to do with cricket, the sport has had a serious impact on Disney+ viewing figures.

First Quarter Results

Before we take a closer look at the reasons why Disney+ has been losing subscribers in India, we need to assess the figures. In the first quarter of 2023, Disney+ lost 4.6 million subscribers in India and southeast Asia. The Disney+ subscriber base still stands at over 50 million people in India and southeast Asia but the loss of 4.6 million subscribers represents an 8% decrease in the number of people paying for the streaming service. The content produced by Disney on the service has not changed and the company own the rights to some of the biggest names in entertainment, including Star Wars. So, why have the number of subscribers fallen so sharply in India over the first quarter of 2023?

Indian Premier League

The answer lies with the Indian Premier League. This is the biggest franchise-based cricket competition in the world. The tournament is usually contested between March and May, and such is the popularity of the IPL with both the players and fans, most international cricket is put on hold for much of the tournament. The IPL attracts the biggest names in cricket from all over the world and the brand value of the competition stood at a staggering ₹90,038 crore (US$11 billion) in 2022. People love cricket in India, and it is a hugely popular sport meaning fans want to watch the biggest games and they come no bigger than the IPL.

Disney+ previously held the televised rights for the IPL in India and showing the cricket live in their streaming service helped to boost subscribers. The 2022 IPL was shown in India via Disney+ and they gained many new subscribers as a result. However, following the conclusion of the 2022 IPL season, Disney+ lost the rights to stream the IPL to Viacom18. The bidding reached $3 billion, and that figure was more than Disney+ were willing to pay.

HBO and the United States

In addition to losing the IPL streaming rights in India, HBO pulled all its shows from Disney+ in April 2023. That came as another huge blow to the streaming service, with some of the biggest US shows being removed from their offering.

HBO is an American television company but neither they or Disney+ have shown any appetite to show the IPL or any other cricket competition to audiences in the United States. The US is a massive market in terms of sports lovers, but the public have yet to take cricket into their hearts. Baseball, all be it a completely different sport, is never going to be replaced by cricket in the US and many American sports fans see baseball as being in direct competition with cricket. Most sportsbook betting apps offer cricket betting markets, with the IPL being one of the major competitions available, in addition to the Ashes and the Cricket World Cup. Some cricket events are streamed live on mobile betting apps but cricket as a spectator sport and for betting, is yet to take off in the US.

The US sports and betting markets are huge and if cricket could get a foothold in the United States, as it has in India and England, it would be massive for the sport. However, cricket is like a religion in India, and this is highlighted by the fact so many people are willing to follow the live coverage of the IPL from one streaming service to another.