Disney+ Launches In India After Brief Delay As 'The Mandalorian' Has A Strong European Debut
Disney+ has been in American homes since last fall, but the House of Mouse's streaming service is only just now starting to expand to international territories.
It's been one week since Disney+ arrived in Europe, turning The Mandalorian into quite the sensation among viewers in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spin, Switzerland, Austria and Ireland. Now even more international markets are getting a taste of the live-action Star Wars series, with Disney+ launch in India, which was previously delayed from debuting on March 29, starting today.
Deadline has word on the India launch of Disney+ happening today. The debut of the streaming service was pushed back due to complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic, but the delay ended up not being extensive at all, which is good news for viewers in India who are anxious to start streaming.
In India, Disney's streaming service will actually be called Disney+ Hotstar. That's because Disney acquired Hotstar, India's biggest streaming service, when they picked up Fox's entertainment assets in their big merger. This will make India's version of Disney+ significantly different from others.
Disney+ Hotstar will have three different subscription tiers for viewers to sign up for: Disney+ Hotstar VIP, Disney+ Hotstar Premium, and an ad-supported basic version of Disney+ Hotstar. Depending on your subscription tier, viewers will get access to not only Disney+ original programming and the movies of Marvel Studios, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation, but also Bollywood movies and even US shows from HBO, Fox and Showtime.
The Mandalorian Launches Big on Disney+ in Europe
While Disney+ is just launching in India, it's already comfortable across Europe after launching a week and a half ago. The service is now available in the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spin, Switzerland, Austria and Ireland, and The Mandalorian is already a huge hit, based on what TV research company Parrot Analytics calls "demand expressions."
Deadline has word from Parrot Analytics that the premiere of the first two episodes of The Mandalorian resulted in 33 million demand expressions, which comes from looking at data across social media, video streaming, photo sharing, blogging and research platforms. And that was just on March 24 when Disney+ launched in those territories. That's not bad considering they've had months to pirate the series following its debut in the United States.
However, it should be noted that some demand expressions are not as valuable in measuring the impact of a television series. That's because social media engagements aren't indicative of engagement with a series, as in actually watching the show in question. But even so, the fact that so many people are talking about the series means it's getting a lot of attention right out of the gate, and it's enough to make The Mandalorian the most in-demand streaming original in all those markets.