It is a fact that Disney+ Hotstar is the single largest streaming platform in India. No other platform is even close to that of Disney+ Hotstar as the closest competition has a difference of more than 20 million subscribers.
There can be a lot of factors behind this insane popularity and one of them is the add ons.
On Disney+ Hotstar you don’t only get the originals of Hotstar and Disney+ but also the popular titles of Hulu, HBO Max, ESPN+ and more.
Looks like Prime Video is also working on add-on subscriptions. Yesterday itself, Prime Video India announced that they will be adding the contents of Hayu on their platforms. With very quick action, you can already access Hayu on Prime Video India.
Hayu is famous for reality TV shows that are often star-studded. Although there are a few contents that would seem relatable to the Indian mass, Hayu is still a great platform if they make originals in India.
So the bigger question is, will this step of Prime Video help it survive against Hotstar’s dominance?
The answer is a clear cut NO. All the contents of Hulu, HBO Max and ESPN+ do not require any extra subscription fee from the platform.
They are by default and are counted in a single subscription fee. On the other hand, Hayu will require an extra ₹999/annum for accessing their content.
The originals on Hulu, HBO Max and ESPN+ are much more relatable to the Indian mass than that of Hayu still it is Hayu that requires an extra subscription charge.
Long story short, there is no way these add-ons will help Prime Video to make it bigger in the market. Extra shows that require extra charge will only ruin the experience on the app and nothing else.