Disney Lay-Offs: Hotstar lost 3.8 million subscribers

Disney Lay Offs: After retrenchment in companies around the world, now American company Walt Disney has also announced the layoff of 7000 employees. Disney’s video streaming service Disney + Hotstar has lost 3.8 million paid subscribers for the first quarter ending December 31, 2022.

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Hotstar was India’s No.1 OTT Platform with IPL Live Streaming

Also, it is believed to be the first major decision of the company’s CEO Bob Iger. Bob took over the reins of the company only last year. Let us tell you, Hotstar was India’s number 1 OTT platform for IPL live streaming.

The layoffs are estimated to save the company $5.5 billion annually

Activist investor Nelson Peltz also accused the company of spending too much on the streaming service. It is understood that the company has decided to lay off employees to cut costs after the user base dwindled. Also, with this retrenchment, it is estimated that the company will save $ 5.5 billion annually.

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After the layoffs, Disney’s total workforce will decrease by 3.6 percent

While the company’s CEO Bob said on Wednesday, I do not take this decision lightly, “I have great respect and admiration for the talent and dedication of our employees around the world.” According to Disney’s 2021 annual report, it has 1,90,000 employees worldwide. Of these, 80 percent were full-time, with the layoffs reducing Disney’s total workforce by 3.6 percent.

Why is Disney laying off 7,000 employees?

• Post Covid, the company has seen a reduction in its customer base across the globe.
• Like other streaming platforms, Disney has also seen a decrease in the number of subscribers.
• The second reason is being out of the IPL.
• Disney-Star had rights to cricket telecast in India, especially IPL for the last 5 years.
• However, Reliance-backed Viacom18 has acquired IPL digital rights for Rs 23.758 crore.
• As a result, Disney-Hotstar will now lose around 15-25 million subscribers.
• The decrease in popularity of newer Marvel shows has also seen a decline in the number of subscribers.

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Streaming has seen a decline in subscribers in the last quarter

Disney’s video streaming service Disney+Hotstar lost 3.8 million paid subscribers for the first quarter ending December 31, 2022. Disney+ Hotstar’s member base for the quarter stood at 57.5 million, down 6 percent from 61.3 million in the previous quarter. The company also said that streaming has seen a decline in subscribers in the last quarter.

Hotstar dominates the Indian OTT market

Due to its seamless streaming in India, Disney’s OTT platform has been able to beat even a big company like Netflix. Hotstar’s market share in the Indian OTT market is close to 29 percent. While Amazon has 1.70 crores, Netflix has 50 lahks and Disney Plus Hotstar has more than 5 crore paid subscribers.