How to Get the most out of your Disney+ Hotstar Subscription

Because of COVID-19 and the current pandemic situation, there is a growing demand for OTT platforms in India. Since the internet is also very cheap, more and more users are now using streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Disney+ Hotstar.

The trio has made a lot of efforts to lure in customers and get them hooked on to their content. We are sure you have subscribed to at least one of these streaming services. If you find yourself subscribed to Disney+ Hotstar as well, we are going to tell you how to get the best out of your subscription.

Also read: Best Android TV Apps You Should

Hotstar is now Disney+ Hotstar

Disney recently acquired the Star India group. As a result, its video streaming service Hotstar became Disney+ Hotstar. Of course, Disney has bought its own content from Marvel, Pixar, and others to Disney+ Hotstar as well. The acquirement has resulted in an increasing number of customers, along with a lot of new content and partnerships with internet providers as well.

With its aggressive subscription rates, Disney+ Hotstar has managed to get a userbase of over 80 Lakhs (8 Million) subscribers after launching in April this year. Disney+ Hotstar currently offers two tiers of subscriptions – VIP and Premium. Let’s take a look at what each tier has to offer and the differences between them.

Disney+ Hotstar VIP vs. Premium

Two two subscription tiers, unlike Netflix, do not skimp on the quality and screens offered, rather feature different content. The following table shows exactly what you get in Disney+ Hotstar Premium and Disney+ Hotstar VIP subscriptions. In case you haven’t gotten a subscription already, you may compare the different tiers here and take your decision accordingly.

Disney+ Hotstar Tips and Tricks

Now that you have an idea about the various subscription tiers, you would be wondering what can be done apart from just streaming your favorite content. Well, here is everything you can do –

Downloading for offline watching

This is something most of the streaming subscriptions let you do. You can download any movie or TV Show episodes for watching offline, or if you have slow internet service. To download a title, search for it using the search bar and then tap on it. Below the description, there will be a “Download’ button. Click on it, and it will prompt you to select the download quality – high, medium, or low. It will also tell you how much data each of the three qualities will take. Select either of those, and the movie / TV show shall start downloading.

Creating a Watchlist

The home screen of Disney+ Hotstar gives you an ample amount of suggestions about what to watch next and the trending shows and movies. But since there are so many options, one might often get confused. To make things easy, you can create a watchlist that will feature only the movies and TV shows that you select. To create a watchlist, head over to the title you want to add and tap on it. Now below the description, just beside the download button, there’s a “+ Watchlist” button as well. Click on it, and that title will be successfully added to your watchlist. You can access your watchlist from the home screen as well as from the hamburger menu.

Kids Mode

A lot of content on Disney+ Hotstar is not safe to watch for kids. It could either be 18+ or PG certified. Kids Mode allows you to turn the whole app into Disney+ Kids. After turning this feature on, the app will show only children-friendly content. You can turn the feature on by clicking the Kids Mode toggle in the hamburger menu.

Find Content of your desired Genres

At times, you are overwhelmed by the shows and movies Disney+ Hotstar has to offer. This makes it a little difficult to watch shows or movies of a particular genre or category. Fortunately, there’s an option that lets you navigate and search movies of your desired genre. To do this, tap on the hamburger menu and select Genres. You will see multiple genres, such as action, thriller, romance, drama, and more.

Watch’N Play’

Being the official streaming partner for the Indian Premier League which is set to start at the end of September this might be the most anticipated feature on the platform. The IPL is the most loved sporting event in the country, with record-breaking 25 million simultaneous views at one point. As a way to boost their entertainment, many cricket fans enjoy placing bets during the matches, as well as checking the predictions for every IPL game, so that they can make better choices.

With this feature, the platform will be upping the game from previous editions to bring home a unique in-stadia experience to fans. So, when Disney+ Hotstar is broadcasting a live cricket match, you can select the ‘Watch n Play’ option to play games, win prizes, use an interactive emoji stream and make “Hotshots” selfies. The feature only gets activated when there’s an ongoing T-20 tournament or ODI series.

Disney+ Hotstar Upcoming Content (September 2020)

Disney has already announced 19+ titles that are coming to the platform this September. Perhaps the biggest feature to return with a new season is The Simpsons (Season 32) and other animated comedies as well. If you are a keen fan of Disney+ originals, keep an eye on the newest documentary series “Becoming”, which is produced by LeBron James, all episodes arriving on September 18.

There’s also a new talk show called Earth to Ned that revolves around an alien and his lieutenant falling in love with humans and calling off their alien invasion. A very 2020 show, it seems. Disney+ Hotstar also gets a series from HBO called The Third Day, led by Jude Law and Naomie Harris, starting September 15. Another series called Filthy Rich will feature starting September 22. This is based on the New Zealand show of the same name.

But wait, did we forget mentioning the Indian Premier League? Of course, not. IPL 2020 starts September 19, which will be hosted in Dubai. There’s also the English Premier League starting from September 12. We also have the US Open, which is happening right now, available to watch live.

Also Read: Best Free Live TV Apps for Android & iOS

Here’s a full list of everything that’s coming to Disney+ Hotstar in September 2020 –

Final Words

We hope that we have provided adequate information about Dinsey+ Hotstar and also how you can get the most out of your subscription. You can also check out our post about Netflix hacks that tells you about the various things you can do with your Netflix subscription.

We hope that you guys are also excited about IPL 2020 as we are. If you liked this post, please share it with your family and friends. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.