World

Disney attempts to revive streaming business in India with free cricket

Walt Disney is attempting to revive the fortunes of its streaming business in India by offering free cricket on smartphones, betting that the strategy will boost advertising revenue and offset the impact of a subscriber exodus.
The India streaming operations, which were Disney’s biggest last year globally by users, posted a loss of $41.5 million on revenue of $390 million for the year to March 2022, its last disclosed results.

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With subscriber exits accelerating and slashing the user base by a third between October last year and July, the Burbank-headquartered entertainment giant’s financial performance in the country is only expected to come under more pressure.
Disney’s woes are a cautionary tale about the Indian market where expectations about a swelling middle-class are often frustrated by deeply cost-conscious consumers.
The company acquired Indian streaming service Hotstar when it paid $71 billion for some 21st Century Fox global assets in 2019. With the streaming rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s richest cricket league, in the bag, Disney made cricket on Hotstar a paid service in 2020 and was confident about garnering up to 100 million users within years.
But Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani snatched IPL rights away in a $2.9 billion bid last year, and then streamed games for free. Soon, Disney subscribers fled – out of 61 million users in October, roughly 21 million had left by July.
Disney internally recognizes it misjudged Indians’ willingness to pay – people signed up for Hotstar when it had IPL, but didn’t stick around to buy more premium plans to watch other content, two Disney sources told Reuters.
“We were bullish on Indian subscribers’ propensity to pay. That’s not worked out,” said one of the sources. “Free cricket is the only bullet left.”
The company will stream live matches of the Asia Cup from Aug. 30 as well as the World Cup in October-November that users of 600 million smartphones in the cricket-mad nation can watch without paying anything.
The new strategy comes as Disney is also exploring options of finding a joint venture partner or even a sale of its India business.

‘Hybrid model’

Disney renewed its rights to show the International Cricket Council’s tournaments in India from 2024 to 2027 by paying around $3 billion. It retains digital streaming rights but last year licensed the TV broadcast rights to Indian’s Zee Entertainment for around $1.5 billion, a source said.
The company has assessed that going back to the free-cricket model on mobile phones and tablets is the strategic pivot needed to shore up revenues. It calls the move a new “hybrid model” to drive advertising revenues by raising smartphone viewers, while targeting new subscribers for the Hotstar TV app where cricket will remain under paid plans.
This strategy is about “how we build a model which will allow us to drive two revenue streams more meaningfully,” Sajith Sivanandan, head of Disney+ Hotstar, said in an interview, adding Disney was confident its user base will grow in the years ahead.
Making cricket free on mobile will help “450 million-plus customers to tune in” over 48 days of the 50-over World Cup that is being hosted by India, compared to 300 million in the last World Cup in 2019, stated a “Festival of Cricket 2023” Disney presentation created for advertisers and seen by Reuters.
The company is eyeing a new record of 50 million concurrent viewership during the World Cup, double the 2019 number, the document added. That will also be 56 percent higher than what Ambani’s JioCinema clocked during this year’s IPL finals in May.
Sivanandan said the company would target advertisers with budgets as low as 200,000 rupees ($2,421). Another new initiative would be interactive ads connecting watchers to a brand’s WhatsApp chat to enable purchases of the products.
The Disney document showed a new deal struck with Coca-Cola for boosting subscriptions. QR codes on an estimated 400 million Coke bottles will offer a Hotstar trial, with Disney hoping 80,000 people will then take paid plans.

Low average revenue

There is no guarantee, though, that Disney’s strategy pivot will succeed.
Daoud Jackson, a senior analyst specializing in streaming businesses at UK research firm Omdia, said free cricket was not a sure shot winner as companies pay billions of dollars to get streaming rights but commensurate advertising revenue takes many years to materialize.
While India’s middle class is massive, the broad user base in the world’s most populous country “narrows sharply” when it comes to paying users, VC firm Blume Ventures said in April.
In the United States, ad-free Disney+ streaming service subscription rates are set to rise by 27 percent to $13.99 per month. By contrast in India, Disney+ Hotstar service costs $3.62 a month.
The average revenue per user (ARPU) is very low in India at just $0.59, compared to Disney+ U.S. service’s $7.31, according to Disney’s latest quarterly earnings report.
Disney’s global leadership has put pressure on India to speed up the “path to profitability” for Hotstar. CEO Bob Iger’s Chief of Staff, Nancy Lee, visited the country earlier this year and questioned the business leaders if streaming operations can be profitable before the end-2024 global target, sources said.
She was told advancing the target will not be possible.
Still, research firm Media Partners Asia estimated last year India’s streaming market will be worth $7 billion by 2027, where Netflix and Amazon.com’s Prime Video will also be competing. But it is the rivalry with JioCinema, run by Ambani’s broadcast unit Viacom18, that could be the most intense.
As Ambani promoted IPL on his streaming apps around March, he focused on how people can watch matches on the go on smartphones, and do not need a TV. To counter that, Disney at the time rolled out ads saying cricket was best watched on TV – for which it still has IPL rights.
In new ad campaigns last week, Disney changed tack.
“Now watch all matches of the world’s biggest tournaments, anywhere, on your mobile, absolutely free,” it said.

Multi-millionaires, influential businessmen bet on cricket as next big American sport

World

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi meets with CEOs of leading Norwegian companies

H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, has met with a group of CEOs from leading Norwegian companies, as part of their participation in the UAE-Norway Investment Forum, held alongside his official visit to the Kingdom of Norway.

During the meeting, H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed underscored the UAE leadership’s commitment to strengthening economic cooperation with its international partners.

He highlighted that investment in innovation and knowledge is a cornerstone for achieving sustainable development, noting that enhancing collaboration with Norwegian companies across key sectors will open new avenues for mutual economic growth between the two countries.

The UAE-Norway Investment Forum, taking place in Oslo, aimed to highlight available investment opportunities and strengthen trade relations between the UAE and Norway, fostering shared interests and supporting innovation and knowledge-based economic visions.

-wam

World

At the Indonesia International Book Fair 2024, TRENDS inaugurates 10th global office, releases four books

As part of its Asian research tour, partnership with Aletihad News Center, and
primary sponsorship of the Indonesia International Book Fair 2024, TRENDS
Research & Advisory inaugurated its office in Jakarta, marking its 10th location
worldwide. It also released four books in Indonesian.
The inauguration event was attended by ambassadors of the UAE, Bahrain, and
Jordan to Indonesia, chairpersons of the UAE and Indonesian Publishers’
Associations, the Director of TRENDS’ Jakarta office, and a group of researchers
and academics.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS
Research & Advisory, stated that TRENDS’ international offices—set to reach 15
by the end of 2024—aim to enhance the Center’s research efforts and deepen its
role in disseminating knowledge, thus serving as a global knowledge bridge.
He emphasized, “At TRENDS, we believe in the importance of cooperation
between think tanks and prioritize this endeavor. We believe the TRENDS office in
Jakarta will enhance the exchange of knowledge and ideas between think tanks in
Asia and the Middle East, opening new horizons for collaboration in various
fields.”

Four books in Indonesian
As part of the Jakarta office’s inaugural activities, four books were released in
Indonesian, including the 11th and 12th books of the Muslim Brotherhood
Encyclopedia and Global Trends in AI and Automation and the Future of
Competition between Man and Machine: An Analytical Forward-looking Vision.

Hostility to Arab states
The 11th book of the Muslim Brotherhood Encyclopedia, The Concept of the State
According to the Muslim Brotherhood, highlights its hostile stance toward Arab
states since its inception. The group views them as an obstacle to its ascent to
power. It opposed the modern principles upon which these states were built,
considering them incompatible with the group’s unique interpretation of Islam,
which it claimed to embody exclusively.

Exclusion of nonconformists
The 12th book, The Muslim Brotherhood: Rejection of Tolerance and Exclusion of
Nonconformists, examines the Muslim Brotherhood’s stance towards
nonconformists, individuals, and entities. The book reveals the group’s binary view
of the world, categorizing others as allies or adversaries. It ties these relationships
to the Brotherhood’s internal power struggles and self-serving interests.

Global Trends in AI
The third book, Global Trends in AI, explores significant developments in AI and
its impact on various aspects of life, including the economy, society, and
governance. It also offers a comprehensive analysis of technological advancements
in AI, its applications across sectors, the ethical and social challenges it presents,
and its future trajectory.

Automation

The fourth book, Automation and the Future of Competition between Man and
Machine: An Analytical Forward-looking Vision, addresses the growing challenges
faced by the human workforce in the face of widespread automation and AI
applications. The book concludes that while automation presents a significant
challenge to the labor market, it simultaneously creates new opportunities. It
emphasizes the importance of preparing for this shift through skills development,
continuous education, and adopting economic and social policies that support the
workforce.

Prominent pavilion and active presence
The TRENDS’ pavilion at the Indonesia International Book Fair has attracted
numerous visitors, including academic researchers and officials, such as the
ambassadors of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey. Additionally,
chairpersons of Arab and Indonesian publishers’ associations, authors, publishers,
and students visited the pavilion. All were impressed with and praised TRENDS’ diverse, valuable publications. They also commended TRENDS’ active
international presence and ability to address global developments with rigorous
analytical research.
Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali honored the esteemed guests, including
ambassadors of the UAE and Bahrain to Indonesia, Wedha Startesti Yudha,
Chairperson of the Indonesia International Book Fair Committee, Arys Hilman
Nugraha, Chairman of the Indonesian Publishers Association, and others,
presenting them with TRENDS’ publications and commemorative shields.
Additionally, he awarded TRENDS’ Research Medal to Ni Made Ayu Martini
Indonesian Deputy Minister of Marketing, Tourism and Creative Economy
It is worth noting that during its current Asian research tour, TRENDS announced
the launch of the TRENDS Research Medal, awarded to individuals who make
significant contributions to the development of scientific research and promote collaboration with TRENDS in strengthening a culture of research across various fields.

World

US determined to prevent full-scale war in Middle East, Joe Biden tells UNGA79

US President Joe Biden highlighted the US Administration’s determination to prevent a wider war that engulfs the entire Middle East region, noting that a diplomatic solution “remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes on the border safely”.

In remarks he made today before the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79), the US President said, “Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest,” adding that a diplomatic solution is still possible.

He also touched on “the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank”, and the need to “set the conditions for a better future”, which he said featured “a two-state solution, where the world — where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalised relations with all its neighbours, where Palestinians live in security, dignity, and self-determination in a state of their own”.

President Biden underscored the ceasefire and hostage deal put forth by Qatar and Egypt, which the UN Security Council endorsed. He said, “Now is the time for the parties to finalise its terms, bring the hostages home,” adding that this would help ease the suffering in Gaza, and end the war.

-WAM