Breaking Star Sports 1 Tamil HD & Telugu HD Started On AsiaSat 7 At 105.5°E

[The Lonelier Island]

Which is why i said Disney+Hotstar has a well laid out content and pricing strategy thus has managed to become no. 1 OTT platform maintaining the dominance by a huge margin over others over last 6 or 7 years. Netflix has great range of original programming but lacks on many other fronts specially when it comes to catering to mass audience and even their pricing is way too steep for a large number of regular subscribers to opting for it even if we keep aside the fact that it is still lagging in locally relevant content part

It was content that was bringing in users. Other than Marvel and Premier League. They got nothing attractive. So charging ₹899 to stream is excessive. ₹1499 for 4K now is just too much. Meanwhile Netflix has most big budget movies. Even the pricing has come down. It will even get cheaper when ad supported subscription comes to market. Hard times ahead for Disney+ Hotstar.

 

[dino29]

Adding to the above point so a big sporting property like IPL can immensely help scale up the paid subscriber base of an OTT platform both in mass and niche segments thus helping generate more subscription revenue and even alongside develop more viewership for English GEC / Movie / Infotainment /Original content / other premium content which r provided as part of that plan ...this overall rise in viewership helps attract more advertisers on the OTT platform thereby adding to total revenue. An OTT platform develops content + a pricing strategy which helps achieve great balance between investment made vs revenue made from it hence u have mobile only subscription plans, plans which provide streaming at lower resolution and on just 2 Devices simultaneously, plans with streaming available in full HD or 4K resolution and on 4 screens simultaneously + all these plans help generate additional revenue via ads. Ad free plans cost more and hence r less popular / find few takers. In 2021 we saw disney+hostar stop VIP plans and have all contnet provided right from lowest plan with main reason of making all of their content reach out to wider audience base who subscribe to different plans and generate more ad revenue

For a broadcaster having presence on both linear and OTT platforms a more tailored strategy is required for them to decide as to which is best , cost effective way to reach out to the concerned audience via TV or OTT mode...in some cases opting or one of these suits a particular genre of content while in others a dual reach approach is neded.

Netflix has largely remained to be a niche OTT platform. It lacks any content for it to reach out or be attractive at current price point for larger audience in India to opt for it. It does not have Hindi GEC content (TV serials aired on channels) though it has hindi/regional movies but still quite leas compared to Amazon Prime Video or even Disney+Hostar and it does not provide such any content for free or at lower price thus again limiting the reach/subscription/viewership. If it buys rights of a big sporting property say IPL it can add up to paid subscriber base but if pricing is kept affordable and ads r enabled on the platform for revenue generation but still to compete with Disney+Hostar they will find it to be extremely difficult task bcoz the Freemium subscription model adopted by Disney for it alongwith range of content and so many attractive bundled offers it is being provided with across different telecom or DTH/ Cable TV Platforms makes its popularity soar high....for competing with Amazon Prime Video and reduce the subscriber number or revenue gap with Disney+Hostar there r lot of changes needed in Netflix business model in India. It can charge a premium and remain mostly an OTT platform with very small subscriber base or grow the subscriber base by adopting more inclusive strategy which will also help in valuation of the company to be elevated

 

[The Lonelier Island]

Adding to above Netflix has YRF's daily soap opera shows. Netflix is not niche. We get subscription starting ₹149. There is no compromise when it comes to quality and no ads. Hotstar was popular because of IPL. They didn't had any plan to monetize. They were burning morning with ridiculously cheap plan. Hence, they suffered both when it came to subscription and ad revenue. Apart from seasonal cricket fans. English content kept Hotstar alive. It was the platform for shows like Game of Thrones,House of the Dragons, Succession etc. This is why after initial months of it's release. English content was put behind paywall of ₹999/year. Anyhow streaming rights of IPL is worth much more than some odd regional sports channels. If these were any popular. They wouldn't have to shutdown Star Sports 1 Bangla and Star Sports 1 Marathi. Also tech savvy Karnataka still doesn't have a HD sports channel. So no IPL in HD for you. Whatever data they show about growth in adaptation of HD TVs are irrelevant.

 

[dino29]

Adding to above Netflix has YRF's daily soap opera shows. Netflix is not niche. We get subscription starting ₹149. There is no compromise when it comes to quality and no ads. Hotstar was popular because of IPL. They didn't had any plan to monetize. They were burning morning with ridiculously cheap plan. Hence, they suffered both when it came to subscription and ad revenue. Apart from seasonal cricket fans. English content kept Hotstar alive. It was the platform for shows like Game of Thrones,House of the Dragons, Succession etc. This is why after initial months of it's release. English content was put behind paywall of ₹999/year. Anyhow streaming rights of IPL is worth much more than some odd regional sports channels. If these were any popular. They wouldn't have to shutdown Star Sports 1 Bangla and Star Sports 1 Marathi. Also tech savvy Karnataka still doesn't have a HD sports channel. So no IPL in HD for you. Whatever data they show about growth in adaptation of HD TVs are irrelevant.

Again incorrect assessment buddy. Netflix still is a niche OTT platform for reasons i have already explained. Even discussed relevance of dedicated regional sports in certain states vs others where it is not a viable business idea and audio feeds r sufficient so will not explain again. Disney+Hotstar has enough content to drive up paid subscription and will add more, Freemium model will continue to deliver well interms of subscription + ad revenue. IPL digital rights no doubt is a big loss but they have enough content to still make subscription plans remain attractive and will add more....HBO content had niche appeal and as returns to investment would have been lower hence as part of restructuring they decided to not renew the deal, they will add more English / International GEC content and even Anime to fill the void. Rights of Certain FX, 20th Century Studio, Hulu, Marvel shows maybe with some other OTT platforms at present or Disney/Star may not hold its India distribution rights....these may be added later on Disney+Hotstar Platform later if such agreement is signed or rights r acquired. Remember broadcasters / platforms have to buy the rights even from other parent studio/ production companies, it does not come for free as u or some others may be thinking of it

 

[The Lonelier Island]

Again incorrect assessment buddy. Netflix still is a niche OTT platform for reasons i have already explained. Even discussed relevance of dedicated regional sports in certain states vs others where it is not a viable business idea and audio feeds r sufficient so will not explain again. Disney+Hotstar has enough content to drive up paid subscription and will add more, Freemium model will continue to deliver well interms of subscription + ad revenue. IPL digital rights no doubt is a big loss but they have enough content to still make subscription plans remain attractive and will add more....HBO content had niche appeal and as returns to investment would have been lower hence as part of restructuring they decided to not renew the deal, they will add more English / International GEC content and even Anime to fill the void. Rights of Certain FX, 20th Century Studio, Hulu, Marvel shows maybe with some other OTT platforms at present or Disney/Star may not hold its India distribution rights....these may be added later on Disney+Hotstar Platform later if such agreement is signed or rights r acquired. Remember broadcasters / platforms have to buy the rights even from other parent studio/ production companies, it does not come for free as u or some others may be thinking of it

You know nothing about streaming market. If you did you would realise that Disney holds everything exclusively for their platform. Even Marvel shows which were exclusive to Netflix are now available on Hotstar. So saying rights of shows on other platform is nonsense. Hulu, Disney, ESPN or any other show it's either on Hotstar or not available for streaming. They add whatever they feel like adding. I am waiting for years for the addition of The Amazing Race. Still waiting in 2023.

And Netflix is not a niche platform which you are trying to portray. Niche platform is something like Mubi. They are the second most popular streaming platform with popular shows and high budget movies. Only thing is they are little expensive than their rivals. They charge for quality entertainment. Instead of relying on decades of archive for subscribers.

 

[dino29]

You know nothing about streaming market. If you did you would realise that Disney holds everything exclusively for their platform. Even Marvel shows which were exclusive to Netflix are now available on Hotstar. So saying rights of shows on other platform is nonsense. Hulu, Disney, ESPN or any other show it's either on. They add whatever they feel like adding.

And Netflix is not a niche platform which you are trying to portray. Niche platform is something like Mubi. They are the second most popular streaming platform with popular shows and high budget movies. Only thing is they are little expensive than their rivals. They charge for quality entertainment. Instead of relying on decades of archive for subscribers.

Buddy, u can assume what u wish. There r lot of reasons why a company may not be having rights of a particular content in a given region/territory....Please Google on the same....there r plenty of such content which a company may have produced in the US but will not hold its rights in India. Anyways u r not willing to accept the truth so i will not discuss on further.


You seem to have not understood definition of "niche" , u r saying Netflix is not a niche platform but Mubi is ....it is like saying comparing a 5 star hotel to a 7 star one....both r premium but one will cost u somewhat more for services it offers. It is not just Netflix which is providing quality entertainment so is Disney+Hotstar and across more range of genres

 

[The Lonelier Island]

Buddy, u can assume what u wish. There r lot of reasons why a company may not be having rights of a particular content in a given region/territory....Please Google on the same....there r plenty of such content which a company may have produced in the US but will not hold its rights in India. Anyways u r not willing to accept the truth so i will not discuss on further.

You are the one that don't have the ability to ever accept anything but what you believe in. Except for some second output deal like with Mulan with Zee5 and one old Hulu show that is available on Prime Video. Everything else is available on Disney+ Hotstar.

You seem to have not understood definition of "niche" , u r saying Netflix is not a niche platform but Mubi is ....it is like saying comparing a 5 star hotel to a 7 star one....both r premium but one will cost u somewhat more for services it offers. It is not just Netflix which is providing quality entertainment so is Disney+Hotstar and across more range of genres

Nah, you don't know the meaning of niche. To you if Golmaal and Singham would air on Star Gold Select. It will become niche to you. Niche is what meant for select few niche audience. Movies meant for a select art of movie lovers. Something like Sacred Games, Jamtara is not for your niche audience.

 

[JollyLNB]

Please let’s stop the discussion here. It has gone too much off-topic. I have already reported the posts to be moved to OnlyTech.

Disney+ Hotstar will have its share of ups and downs but I do think it will be able to overcome the loss of IPL and HBO through other means. I won’t say any more.

 

[The Lonelier Island]

Please let’s stop the discussion here. It has gone too much off-topic. I have already reported the posts to be moved to OnlyTech.

Disney+ Hotstar will have its share of ups and downs but I do think it will be able to overcome the loss of IPL and HBO through other means. I won’t say any more.

Look, Jolly read the post first before accusing it going offtopic. We were discussing about Disney Star as a company and this thread pretty much is about their upcoming channels.

 

[JollyLNB]

Look, Jolly read the post first before accusing it going offtopic. We were discussing about Disney Star as a company and this thread pretty much is about their upcoming channels.

The thread is about Star Sports 1 Tamil and Telugu HD, not Disney+ Hotstar and how it is better or worse than Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, SonyLIV and everyone else.

Please stick to the topic and post general discussions either in a general thread or in the appropriate OnlyTech forum. Other upcoming channels like Asianet Movies HD have their own threads and we should respect the thread title.

As far as both of your arguments for and against DPHS are concerned I agree with both of your points. Yes, IPL and HBO are a loss for DPHS but that doesn’t mean that it will fall below SonyLIV overnight.