The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is all set to kick off in Ahmedabad on October 5, with Disney+ Hotstar offering free coverage of the international championship in India this year. As we get closer to the 13th edition of the competition, Disney+ Hotstar in association with the International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced a new MaxView feature. This functionality will allow cricket fans to watch the match in vertical mode on the OTT platform. Additionally, the streaming giant has updated its Android and iOS apps with a live feed tab, a scorecard tab, and AI-based video clarity improvements.
Disney+ Hotstar announced the addition of new features for mobile users via a press release on Tuesday (October 3). The streaming platform offers a new MaxView function in collaboration with the ICC. This functionality allows users to view the game in vertical mode (9X14 portrait view), enabling a one-handed viewing experience. The Live Feed and Scorecard tab are also available in vertical mode, along with vertical ad formats. Users can take advantage of single-player frames in MaxView mode to get a closer look at their favorite player. A split view is also displayed.
Furthermore, the company claims that the updated Disney+ Hotstar app has been optimized to reduce data usage while ensuring high-quality streaming. The platform has also added an AI-based filter to the backend to improve the viewing experience on mobile devices.
Moreover, the OTT platform has added an always-on cricket scorecard pill. This update allows users to follow live games while accessing other content on the platform. Moreover, Disney+ Hotstar is bringing a new content discovery feature known as the Coming Soon tray. Viewers can set reminders for upcoming content using this feature. Additionally, the platform will separate free and paid content into separate drawers by offering free callouts on the homepage drawers.
During the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, the platform will also showcase “free badges” that will help unsubscribed customers discover content available to them for free.
The Disney+ Hotstar Super subscription in India starts at Rs. 899 per year with ads, for a 1080p experience. The ad-free Premium package costs Rs. 1,499 and supports streaming in Ultra-HD resolution. The ad-supported mobile plan costs Rs. 499 per year.
