JOIN USDisney to launch global Star branded streaming service
The Walt Disney Company at its investor meet on Aug. 4 (Tuesday) announced the launch of a new Star-branded streaming service next year.
The company CEO Bob Chapek revealed that the Star streaming service would go live in 2021. The newly created OTT platform will be available globally but there is no word if this will replace or be an international version of Hulu, which is popular in the US for aggregating third-party content.
Chapek also announced that the various Disney streaming services had reached a significant new milestone in breaching 100 million paid subscriptions. It includes 57.5 million for Netflix rival Disney+ along with some 35 million for Hulu and 8.5 million for its ESPN+ sports streaming service.
It should be noted that after Disney purchased 21st Century Fox along with television broadcaster Star India in March 2019, the company merged the latter's Hotstar streaming service with Disney+ and launched Disney+ Hotstar in India.
The company now offers the service in three price ranges -- Disney+ Hotstar VIP (Rs 399/year), Disney+ Hotstar Premium (Rs 1,499/year), and an ad-supported basic tier for free.
Chapek also revealed that the company plans to expand Disney+ Hotstar in Indonesia on Sept. 5. By the end of 2020, Disney+ is expected to be made available in nine of the top 10 economies of the world.
We have reached out to Disney-Hotstar India spokesperson seeking more details on the new Star streaming service.
Stay tuned. Get the latest news on new launches, gadget reviews, apps, cyber security, and more on personal technology only on DH Tech.