Launch of Disney+ Delayed in India Amid COVID-19 Concerns

The launch of the successful streaming service Disney+ in India has now been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

What’s Happening:

  • The anticipated debut of the popular streaming service, Disney+ has been delayed in India.
  • The service was set to debut on March 29th alongside the India Premier League Cricket tournament which has now been delayed until mid-April because of COVID-19 concerns.
  • Disney has not yet announced a new release date for the streaming service.
  • The Walt Disney Company acquired Hotstar, an Indian streaming service, through the recent 20th Century Fox acquisition, and has rebranded with the Disney Plus Hotstar name.
  • Much of the Disney+ content we already know here in the United States is expected to debut on the service when it debuts in India. The World According to Jeff Goldblum, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, and The Mandalorian are expected to debut on the service when it launches.
  • Content will be available in English but much of the programming will also be available to be dubbed in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages.
  • With Disney+ in the United States, by the end of 2019 there were 26.5 million subscribers, increasing to 28.6 million paid subscribers as of Feb 3rd.

What They’re Saying:

  • Uday Shankar, president of The Walt Disney Co. Asia Pacific and chairman of Star and Disney India: Given the delay of the season, we have made the decision to briefly pause the rollout of Disney+ and will announce a new revised premiere date for the service soon."
  • Bob Iger, Executive Chairman of the Walt Disney Company: "The launch of Disney+ has been enormously successful, exceeding even our greatest expectations.”

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