As Disney bleeds subscribers in India, Bob Iger remains optimistic but says 'open minded' to selling

Disney+ Hotstar is not having a good time in India. The streaming platforms has seen a the biggest decline in its subscriber base since its launch. Despite the not so promising numbers, Disney boss Bob Iger is optimistic on the company's prospects in India, saying Disney “would like to stay”. But that does not mean he is going to keep throwing good money after bad.

"We’re looking in an open minded way. We like being in business in India, we’d love to be able to strengthen our hand. I can’t at this point predict where that will end up," Iger told CNBC in response to a pointed question on whether he plans to sell Disney's Hotstar assets in India.

The latest quarterly results from Disney show a 24% decline in subscribers for Disney+ Hotstar in India, with memberships for the platform in India at 40.4 million compared to 52.9 million in the previous quarter. This amounts to a decline of 12.5 million users in a single quarter.

One big reason for this exodus of subscribers was the double whammy Disney+ Hotstar received ober the quarter. Even as it lost the digital broadcast rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL), its partnership with HBO came to an end, leaving fans without access to favourite shows like Succession, Game of Thrones, and Westworld.

That's not all, folks! JioCinema swooped in to snatch up HBO's content faster than you could say "Winter is coming."

Granted, Disney+ Hotsar has been steadily losing subscribers over the past few quarters. Between September 2022 and March 2023, the platform has seen nearly one crore subscribers close their wallets and tune out.  But the loss of HBO's content portfolio, and the rights to the IPL exascerbated the situation.

No one was really surprised.  Analysts had estimated that losing the digital rights to the IPL could cost Disney+Hotstar 15-25 million subscribers. The nearly 21 million subscribers lost over the last three quarters is within that range.

The ray of hope for Disney is that in the next quarter the company is likely to report a jump in its subscribers count, and potentially report a new India partner.

According to market reports, Hotstar has regained many subscribers, and attracted tens of millions of non-paying users back to the platform when it began streaming the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup.

According to a report by Bloomberg, the company is in talks with potential buyers for its India streaming and television business, including with billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd.

The US entertainment giant is reported to have discussed a range of options with would-be suitors -- from a deal for the entire Disney Star business, to a piecemeal transaction that may include some combination of its assets including sports rights and regional streaming service Disney+ Hotstar.

One must also remember that while Disney+Hotstar is the crown jewel in Disney's digital bouquet, its big bet in India is its linear portfolio, comprising dozens of cable TV channels. “Our linear business actually does quite well, it’s making money,” said Iger, adding, "In terms of advertising, we are actually finding that linear is a little bit stronger than we had expected it would be."

So for now, all options are o the table for Iger; and while he is hopeful Disney+Hotstar will script a turnaround with a happy ending, he's not closing any door that could allow him an exit from businesses that do not contribute to Disney's fortunes as expected.