Source: Nick Sutrich/Android Central
What you need to know
- Disney is reportedly planning to launch Disney+ in India and few Southeast Asian markets by the second half of 2020.
- In India and other Southeast Asian countries, the entire Disney+ catalog will be available via Hotstar.
- Once the Disney+ catalog becomes available on Hotstar, Disney might hike the monthly subscription fee of the video streaming service from $14 a year to $30.
The highly anticipated Disney+ streaming service was finally launched earlier this week and managed to amass over 10 million users in just 24 hours. According to a report from TechCrunch, Disney is planning to bring the Disney+ catalog to Hotstar, a video streaming service that it owns, by the second half of 2020. Hotstar with Disney+ catalog will be available in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and a few other Southeast Asian countries.
Hotstar is currently the leader in the Indian video streaming market. Earlier this year, it set a new record for live viewership when 18.6 million users watched the final game of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament on its platform. It has around 60 million monthly active users currently, nearly twice as much as rivals Netflix and Prime Video. During the IPL season, it had over 300 million subscribers.
Citing sources familiar with Disney's plans, the report further claims that the company will be raising the monthly subscription fee of Hotstar in India after bringing the Disney+ catalog. Once the price hike comes into effect, the subscription fee could go up from $14 to nearly $30 a year. Even after the price hike, which is expected to happen sometime by the end of the first quarter next year, Hotstar will still be more affordable than Netflix in India.
Disney+ is here: All the news, shows, movies, launch issues and more
VoLTE: How to use it and why you should care
VoLTE — or Voice over LTE — is the new standard for calling throughout the U.S., Canada, and parts of Europe. Not only does it facilitate much higher call quality between cell phones, but it allows devices to stay connected to LTE while on a call, improving data speeds for everyone.
PlayStation reportedly planning service to compete with Xbox Game Pass
Sony is planning to create a service similar to Xbox Game Pass, according to a new report. The service could launch as early as sometime in the spring of 2022, with multiple tiers.
Here are the first 9 things to do with that Pixel 6 you bought Black Friday
Google has made the initial setup of a Pixel relatively painless these days, but that initial tutorial and then installation of all your old apps don't quite get everything set up perfectly. If you picked up a Pixel 6 or 6 Pro during the insane carrier deals on Cyber Monday or Black Friday, here's what to do with it first.
Get the most out of these smart devices and services with Google Assistant
Google Assistant is the most useful smart voice assistant for getting your questions answered and keeping track of your digital life, but it's also great at helping you control your smart home devices and services. Here's what you need to know to take advantage of this helpful feature!