Disney Considering Sale of Disney+ Hotstar, ABC as it Reevaluates All Struggling Assets Despite Impact on Sports Rights
The future is now at Disney, and all of the company’s entertainment assets that aren’t Disney+ and Hulu could be up for review in the coming months as it prepares to transition to a streaming-forward entertainment strategy. A new report from Bloomberg indicates that Disney+ Hotstar, the streaming service the company operates in India may be for sale, and that Disney has already had talks with potential buyers.
It’s not a surprise that Disney would consider moving on from this service, despite the large potential customer base in India. Disney+ Hotstar has been hemorrhaging customers for three straight quarters thanks to Disney’s decision not to renew Indian Premier League cricket streaming rights, and the company may be ready to call it quits in that region as a result.
Disney makes far less money per customer from Disney+ Hotstar than it does from streaming customers in other global territories, so even with IPL rights the math might not have been working out from the company’s perspective. The report indicates that the company is open to whatever possibilities make sense, including a partial sale of Disney+ Hotstar’s assets or completely moving on from the platform. But the Indian streaming service is not the only high-profile asset that Disney has discussed moving on from in recent weeks.
ABC could also be on the negotiating table for Disney, as reports surfaced last week that it had held discussions with Nexstar regarding an acquisition of the channel. Disney could end up selling all of its linear channels, as CEO Bob Iger recently called cable a “no-growth” business and said that TV networks weren’t necessarily “core” parts of Disney’s strategy going forward.
The sale of ABC could complicate future sports rights negotiations for Disney, particularly with the NBA. One of the reasons that Disney holds the rights to so many NBA games in the league’s current broadcasting deal is because it has an over-the-air channel to show them on. If Disney decides to sell ABC before the NBA signs its next broadcast deal — which is set to expire following the 2024-25 season — it could open the door for NBC to make a splashy bid, which it is reportedly interested in doing.
Indeed, all the sports that air on ABC, such as occasional “Monday Night Football” games, college football, and more could be complicating factors in selling the channel. Perhaps Disney will wait to sell the channel until it is ready to offer a streaming version of ESPN that doesn’t require a cable subscription. As of now, it appears that the platform won't be ready until 2025 or 2026, so Disney might hold onto ABC until it has another way to offer users those sports without needing a pay-TV subscription.
Disney has no illusions remaining about where the future of its entertainment segment lies. It has moved up talks with Comcast regarding the valuation of Comcast’s portion of Hulu to this month, which could signal that it wants to expedite the process of buying that stake and uniting all of Hulu under one corporate banner. When it does own all of Hulu, Disney plans to merge Hulu and Disney+ into a “one-app experience” that will be the centerpiece of its streaming plans.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”