We’ve been waiting for this, haven’t we? Disney+ is a contender to Netflix and other on-demand streaming services, and the family-focused content service already has planned rollouts in a number of countries—including our neighbours to the south, Singapore. But now, we have the clearest indicator yet that Disney+ is finally set to reach Malaysian shores, thanks to a couple of social media accounts that sprung up over the past few days.
As spotted by WhatsonDisneyPlus, a new, verified Instagram account for “Disneyplushotstarmy” went live with a single post on the account:
As you can see, the account has Instagram’s verified blue tick, which confirms that the account is indeed authentic. Of course, there isn’t actual confirmation that the service is coming to Malaysia, but the “loading” post looks identical to the one that was used on the official Disney+ Singapore Twitter account a number of weeks ago—and we know how that turned out.
Meanwhile, as Lowyat.net reports, an identically-named Facebook page also went live, and the same “Loading” post was shared. However, the page has since been taken down (or set to private), so perhaps the folks over at Disney+ are figuring out what’s their next step for now. However, it does seem very likely that Disney+ Hotstar will be launched in Malaysia in the near future—a quick search on Disney’s job listings revealed a number of vacancies available in Malaysia.
How much will Disney+ Hotstar subscriptions cost?
In case you were wondering, Hotstar is an on-demand streaming service from India that is owned by 21st Century Fox Inc—which was acquired by Disney back in 2018. This means that Hotstar now falls under the Disney umbrella, and the streaming platform was reportedly rebranded as Disney+ Hotstar in India last year. Based on the recent social media accounts, it looks like Disney+ will be coming in this format for the Malaysian market.
Does this mean that we’ll be getting live sports, and other content from Hotstar—in addition to Disney’s original content? Time will tell. For some context, pricing for Disney+ Hotstar in India is as follows:
Disney+ Hotstar
Monthly Premium – INR 299 (~RM16)
Yearly Premium – INR 1,499 (~RM83)
Yearly VIP – INR 399 (~RM22)
Keep in mind that only the Premium plan supports FHD playback in India, although reports in 2020 stated that 4K resolution content is being rolled out in the country. In any case, if you compare it to Netflix subscription prices in India, Disney+ Hotstar undercuts pricing significantly; Netflix Premium is priced at INR 799 (~RM44) per month, which is more than double the price of Disney+ Hotstar Premium.
Does this mean that Disney+ Hotstar will be more affordable than Netflix in Malaysia? Perhaps, although there hasn’t been official word from them just yet. Meanwhile, Singapore will be getting Disney+ and Hotstar in two separate services, as opposed to Malaysia. For now, only India and Indonesia have access to the Disney+ Hotstar platform in this format, and it is still unclear if there are any drawbacks to this (compared to Disney+), besides the lack of 4K content.
To stay updated to the latest on Disney+ Hotstar, click here for the Instagram page. And, of course, bookmark SoyaCincau.com for all the coverage you need.
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