Disney+Hotstar contributed significantly to the increase in the number of paid subscribers of Disney+ for Q4 2020, the media conglomerate said on Thursday.

The media giant now has over 73 million paid subscribers for its streaming service Disney+.

“The real bright spot has been our direct-to-consumer business, which is key to the future of our company, and on this anniversary of the launch of Disney+ we’re pleased to report that, as of the end of the fourth quarter, the service had more than 73 million paid subscribers – far surpassing our expectations in just its first year,” Bob Chapek, Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company said at earnings call on Thursday.

Chapek further said that Disney+ Hotstar subscriber additions ‘were the largest contributor to this increase, driven by the start of the delayed IPL season.”

“Disney+ Hotstar subscribers now account for a little over a quarter of our global subscriber base,” Chapek said.

The Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020, which ended earlier this week has had the highest viewership ever.

The data was shared by Disney India, citing television rating agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) as the source as per previous reports. This IPL also marked the most games watched by an average viewer for any 60-game IPL season, Disney India had said.

The Walt Disney Company, owing to the success of its direct-to-consumer business has also announced a strategic reorganization of its media and entertainment businesses.

“Under the new structure, Disney’s world-class creative engines will focus on developing and producing original content for the company’s streaming services, as well as for legacy platforms, while distribution and commercialization activities will be centralized into a single, global Media and Entertainment Distribution organization,” the company said in an official release.

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