Disney Delays Launch Of Disney+ In India Amid Coronavirus Chaos

Disney+ will launch later than intended in one of the biggest markets in the world as coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the entertainment industry.

The streamer will no longer go live in India on March 29 as originally intended, and Disney is yet to specify a new launch date for the service, which is stocked with original series such as The Mandalorian.

Disney had planned to time the launch with the start of the Indian Premier League season, but given the spread of COVID-19, the sporting event has been rescheduled. Disney+ will be part of Disney’s local streamer, Hotstar, which has 300M monthly active users.

Uday Shankar, president of The Walt Disney Company APAC and chairman of Star & Disney India, said in a statement: “We recently announced that Disney+ would launch in India through the Hotstar service in conjunction with the beginning of the Indian Premier League cricket season. Given the delay of the season, we have made the decision to briefly pause the roll-out of Disney+ and will announce a new revised premiere date for the service soon.”

Disney+ goes live across many major European countries, including the UK, on March 24.