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Hotstar Review

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Should I use Hotstar?

Watch TV Shows, Movies, Specials, Live Cricket & Football - hotstar.com

· 1 day ago

Cricket fans and Indian entertainment viewers in India get the strongest value, and the live-streaming scale is proven. Viewers abroad, bargain hunters, and Netflix-style catalog seekers find better fits elsewhere.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 18 public sources. Snippets are truncated. HotStar-named CVEs belong to an unrelated WordPress theme.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo evidence in reviewed sources
  • Security posture

Pricing

Mobile

Not shown in reviewed sources

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierNo
SuperNot shown in reviewed sources
PremiumNot shown in reviewed sources

Best for

  • Cricket fans in India
  • Hindi movie and TV watchers
  • Disney content subscribers in India
  • Families watching together

Not for

  • Viewers outside India (plans and catalogs differ by region)
  • Buyers wanting a Netflix-style global original catalog
  • Anyone expecting free streaming (free viewing is cut)
  • Businesses: this is consumer entertainment, not workplace software

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Live matches crash at peak demand; expect match-day outages during big games

medium

Prices rise over time and differ by region (India, Canada, US); check current rates

medium

Cheaper Mobile and Super tiers limit screens and devices

medium

Free TV viewing ended, so most content now needs a paid plan

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Streams live cricket at global-record scale
  • Runs on proven AWS, Akamai, and Firebase infrastructure
  • Bundles movies, shows, and live sports in one app
  • Opened its full content library to all paid subscribers
  • Added monthly plans across all tiers in 2026

Cons

  • Lost 12.5M subscribers in one quarter after a cricket rights shortfall
  • Service crashed during an India-Australia Test match
  • Subscription prices are rising
  • Free viewing on TV stopped for many users
  • Some users say JioHotstar performs worse than old Disney+ Hotstar

Sources & method

- 12 sources - No CVEs for this streaming service in reviewed sources. HotStar-named CVEs belong to an unrelated WordPress theme. A 2017 Twitter account hack is on record.

official x2review x3security x1news x6
  • Twitter account hack (2017), Hotstar's Twitter account was hacked. Media attributed the hack to 'Deadpool', not the Legion group.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 2/5

    Rating

  • Not shown in reviewed sources

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 2/5. Users question worth; price hikes reported
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Published UI and performance case studies
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Live sports, movies, shows, tiered plans
  • Support quality. No evidence in reviewed sources
  • Security posture: 3/5. Minor past incidents; no public CVEs
  • 126+ Trustpilot reviews Reviewers on hotstar.com profile
  • 12.5M Subscriber loss Lost in one quarter, 2023
  • Rs 1,233 cr Star investment Injected into Hotstar, 2017
  • Global record Live viewership Set in 2019

Pricing

Mobile

Not shown in reviewed sources

  • Mobile-only streaming
  • Cheapest option

Super

Not shown in reviewed sources

  • Mid tier
  • More screens than Mobile

Premium

Not shown in reviewed sources

  • Top tier
  • Most screens and best quality

Security

No CVEs for this streaming service in reviewed sources.

  • Twitter account hack (2017)Hotstar's Twitter account was hacked. Media attributed the hack to 'Deadpool', not the Legion group.⁸

HotStar-named CVEs belong to an unrelated WordPress theme. A 2017 Twitter account hack is on record.

Full analysis

Based on 18 public sources. Snippets are truncated. HotStar-named CVEs belong to an unrelated WordPress theme.

Buy for live cricket and Indian shows in India. Skip if you want a global catalog or stream abroad.

Methodology

Based on 18 public sources. Snippets are truncated. HotStar-named CVEs belong to an unrelated WordPress theme.

Read how a report is made.

Sources

  1. Disney's Hotstar loses 12.5M subscribers in a quarter amid cricket shortfalltechcrunch.com
    news
  2. Hotstar goes down, fans incensed as service crashes during Ind-Aus Testhindustantimes.com
    news
  3. Is Disney+ Hotstar worth the price? : r/indiareddit.com
    review
  4. Read Customer Service Reviews of hotstar.comtrustpilot.com
    review
  5. Hotstar sets new global record for live viewershipaws.amazon.com
    news
  6. Hotstar | Customer Stories - Akamaiakamai.com
    news
  7. JioHotstar subscription planshelp.hotstar.com
    official
  8. Hotstar's Twitter Account Was Hacked By 'Deadpool' Not Legionnews18.com
    security
  9. Disney+Hotstar to Offer Entire Content Library to all Paid Usersvoicendata.com
    news
  10. JioHotstar Introduces Monthly Plans Across Tiersjiostar.com
    official
  11. Star pumps Rs 1233 cr into Hotstar, Starsports.combusiness-standard.com
    news
  12. Disney Plus Hotstar far better than JioHotstarreddit.com
    review

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