Disney+ Hotstar App Updating To A New Version Soon
Disney+ is currently available in 106 countries across North America, Europe, Asia/Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. And by the end of 2023, Disney is planning on having the streaming platform available in even more countries.
However, rather than having a single app available across the world, there are many different versions of Disney+. There is the main Disney+ app, which is available across the Americas, Europe and in many countries across the Asia/Pacific region. While India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have a completely different platform, Disney+ Hotstar (codename Rocky).
And most recently, when Disney+ launched in countries across the Middle East and Africa, it used a different version completely, which was a hybrid app, which brought together aspects of Disney+ and Disney+ Hotstar, which has the codename, Hotstar X.
The next big international launch will be on November 17th 2022, in the Philippines, where Disney+ will launch, and it will be also be using the Hotstar X version of the Disney+ app.
Novi Digital Entertainment was the team behind the Hotstar app, which was acquired by Disney when it purchased 20th Century Fox, and most recently, on the app stores, the Novi name has been replaced by The Walt Disney Company (Southeast Asia) PTE LTD.
Disney’s own tech blog has stated that Hotstar X will be replacing the original Hotstar app since that version was created over three years age, but the ageing of the platform had now started to show through the cracks. Also, recently, at the REACT event, which was held in Goa, India, Disney held a special panel and spoke about the Hotstar X model.
And Disney+ Hotstar subscribers in some South East Asia countries have been reporting that they can now find a Star hub within the app, which could indicate that the Hotstar brand maybe changing in some of these countries, especially across South East Asia, following how Disney+ looks in most of the world, with the addition of the Star hub.
It’s not uncommon for apps to be updated, either with small incremental changes or large upgrades. And it look like Disney+ is going through some changes in many countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Thailand.
What do you think of this new version of Disney+?
