hotstar.com
Looking to make inroads into the global market, Hotstar has been working tirelessly to increase its viewership and subscriber base in other countries. The streaming giant has had some success in recent years, with a cult following largely due to its network of soap operas and cricket matches. It's amassed around 80 million subscribers in India since it first launched four years ago, but is still looking to challenge bigger players like Netflix and Hulu in other parts of the world.
After recognizing that cricket streaming was becoming an increasing trend among mobile users, Star IndiaEnterprise, Hotstar Inc. set out to create a platform that would be user friendly and appealing to the younger generations. By partnering with popular social media platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, Hotstar was able to gain a large user base quickly. These partnerships also helped attract sponsorships which in turn increased revenue for the company. With its strategic partnerships in place, Hotstar has become one of the most successful mobile entertainment app enterprises in the world.
The company's partnership with Disney and HBO allowed it to feature films like Jungle Book, Finding Dory, Star Wars, and Marvel movies alongside TV Shows such as Game of Thrones, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, and Silicon Valley.
History
STAR India Pvt. Ltd.'s streaming platform Hotstar began its journey in 2015 with the goal of taking over the Indian streaming market. The company's most notable partnerships started with the Cricket World Cup stream in 2015, and then landed a deal with HBO to provide Game of Thrones telecast in 2017.
In 2017, Hotstar became more popular than the second streaming service in India, Amazon Prime. It had over 12 million users and Netflix had around 5 million.
Hotstar - A Success Story
like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Star India's recently announced alliance with Paramount Pictures
The reason why Hotstar became the largest OTT service provider of TV Shows, Sports and Movies in India is because they have a lot of content that spans across different genres including movies, sports, news, and TV shows. They also provide their content in eight regional languages which makes it more accessible to viewers. Additionally, they have over 100 million app downloads and as a result, generate a lot of ad revenue. However, their biggest selling point has always been their partnerships with traditional television networks. By working together, Hotstar has been able to gain goodwill from its network partners which has translated into increased ad revenues. Recently, they partnered with Paramount Pictures which is an exciting development for the company.
Even though Hotstar is a well-known streaming service in the South-Asian countries, many people have never heard of it. In fact, the app is only available in those four countries right now. But this is changing - Hotstar is working hard to make the app available in more countries around the world, but they have a lot of competition from other streaming services.
Should you try Hotstar?
First, I would like to inform you that streaming services are very affordable in India. You can access platforms such as Hotstar and Amazon Prime for under $14.99/per year. Thus, if you know how to use a VPN or can seek help from someone to complete the payment, you can actively stream Hotstar from anywhere around the world.
As a streamer, you would still have a decent chunk of the pie waiting for you. From popular TV shows such as MasterChef Australia to currently trending, Modern Family, you can stream almost anything. All of HBO's content is available along with exclusive content from National Geographic.
Design & User Interface
When comparing Hotstar's interface with those of Netflix and Hulu, you would be relatively disappointed. However, when comparing it with Amazon Prime Video, you will find that it has a more satisfactory interface. Personally, I am content with the interface but I do find myself getting irritated at times by Netflix's more user-friendly design.
The website has a simple green and white color scheme that is subtle at most. However, I appreciate the content segregation on Hotstar. Searching for content is much easier now than it was two years ago. You can search anything you want in the search bar, and if you're looking for a random viewing experience then Hotstar does have curated playlists to meet your taste.
After that are section dedicated to social media accounts and lastly the settings.
The interface features a simple grid of content, with the title and thumbnail for each piece of content. The homepage features banners showcasing recent content, generally. Then there are recommendation windows with album art up to seven shows. Under that is a customized playlist categorized by genres and content type. After that come sections for social media accounts and finally the settings.
anges including English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil - Sports - News - Premium - The search panel on the right has categories like 'Books', 'Arts & Culture' and 'Tech'.
There are five main categories on the screen: TV, Movies, Sports, News, and Premium. Under each main category is a drop-down menu. Let's learn about each of these categories.
TV: There are a list of Star Network channels along with Hotstar Originals.
Movies: The movies are categorized based upon 9 languages including English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
Sports: Sports is divided into two sections- one for international sports and the other for Indian sports.
News: News includes information about current affairs and world events.
Premium: Premium includes streaming services like Netflix, Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime Video. The search panel on the right has different categories like Books, Arts & Culture, Tech.
Content
The Hotstar app is owned by Novi Digital Entertainment Private Ltd., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Start India Pvt. Ltd. The latter is one of the most celebrated entertainment content creators in India for over 20 years if not more. With a vast content library spanning over 100,000+ hours of content, you can see why this streaming website is loved by people in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Netflix and Amazon Prime Video are the two most popular streaming platforms for television. Netflix has a wide variety of original programming, while Amazon Prime Video has a variety of exclusive programs that are not available on any other streaming service. Some of the well-known originals include "AIB's ON AIR?", "One Tip One Hand?", and "M Bole Toh?". Apparently, Hotstar's originals aren't as good as these two platforms' originals. They're not their biggest strength, and they're not something that would make you drool over.
One advantage that Hotstar has is the quantity of content it offers. This includes both premium and free content. Some of the biggest Bollywood blockbusters have been made available as free content, which has led to users downloading the app. Some popular Bollywood blockbusters, such as ?Bajrangi Bhaijaan?, ?Jolly LLB 2?, ?Golmaal Series? and ?Bahubali 2? have gained an audience in India in recent years.
As for the audience seeking English TV series and movies, there are plenty in store for you as well. You can watch shows like "Modern Family," "Westworld," "Game of Thrones," "How I Met Your Mother," "Prison Break," "Ballers," "Silicon Valley," "Two and a Half Men," "Sex and the City," "Prison Break," "True Detective" and "Sex and the City." For movies, you can choose from titles such as Deadpool, X-Men Apocalypse, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Avengers Series, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Martial and Zootopia to name a few.
Desktop/Mobile Experience
The Hotstar app is available as a browser and app. I don't like that it doesn't have a cross-device sync feature. That means you can't carry on where you left if you use the app on different devices. The app is available on Android and iOS, but its streaming capabilities are not something I can write home about.
Many Indians rely on a 4G data connection with an allowance of up to 1-2 GB of data to stream TV and most of them have shown their distaste towards the app because of the large amount of data that it consumes. The very reason why 4K isn't yet a thing in India is because many Indians rely on a 4G data connection with an allowance of up to 1-2 GB of data, which consumes a lot of data.
The quality of the streamed video at 1080p will be very choppy and unstable if you are using a 4G connection. The best quality that can be achieved is 720p on a 4G connection. If you are watching it from outside of India, the stream will have full HD quality.
Many users find that Hotstar streaming quality is satisfactory, even with slower data speeds. The streaming service offers a 240p resolution as well, which is lower than some other services but still good enough for most viewers. It also has a 10-second replay button, which can help you fast-forward or backtrack your videos. Additionally, the captions that weren't available initially have now been added.
Plans & Pricing
Hotstar is currently the best streaming site in India, offering a similar price to Amazon Prime but with far more value. For just over $15 per year, you get access to an entire year of premium content. This is incredible value, and puts Hotstar ahead of all other streaming sites in the country.
Unlike other streaming services, which require a contract, PlutoTV offers the option to cancel your subscription at any time. Additionally, for those who want to trial the service for a month, PlutoTV offers this as a standard offering.
As for Plans and Pricing, Hotstar currently has a two-tier system. The VIP plan provides access to major sports content along with few Hotstar specials, while the Premium plan allows members to access the entire content library.
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