After witnessing the massive success of JioCinema streaming IPL 2023 for free, Disney+ Hotstar has decided to stream Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup tournaments for free on mobile phones. The OTT platform has announced that the matches will be free-to-watch for all mobile users with access to Disney+ Hotstar.
Disney+ Hotstar on Friday said more than half-a-billion smartphone users in India will be able to watch this year’s Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for free on the OTT platform.
“The move to lift the paywall for mobile-only viewers of both, the Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, is aimed at further democratising the game of cricket and making it accessible to as many mobile users in India as possible for the duration of the season,” the company said in a release.
More than 540 million smartphone users across India will have the opportunity to watch the Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for free, it added. Disney+ Hotstar has also enabled free streaming for tablets.
Asia Cup 2023 is scheduled to be held during September in cricket-crazy India and the Asian nation will also host the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup spanning nearly two months from October 5 to November 19. While Asia Cup has 13 matches scheduled, World Cup will see 10 countries fighting for the coveted trophy and there are a total of 48 matches scheduled.
Both the events will see a deluge of viewers, with Asia Cup already garnering interest amid controversy of the Pakistan cricket team visiting India while the once-in-four years event World Cup is the top product for 50-overs cricket matches.
