Buoyed by 'GOT' frenzy, Hotstar launches premium subscription service

Hotstar, the online video streaming platform owned by Novi Digital Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Star India, has introduced its Premium Membership plan, which is currently available in India.

As part of its offering, Hotstar will premiere popular American TV shows within minutes of their US airing. Season 6 of the immensely popular ‘Game of Thrones’, which premiered in the US and other markets on Sunday (April 24, 2016) night, could be viewed in India in its uncensored version on Monday at 7.30 am on Hotstar, ahead of its TV premiere in India on Star World Premiere HD at 10 pm on April 26.

Hotstar Premium is being offered at Rs 199 a month, while the first month is being offered as free trial.

The entire HBO Originals content is being offered as part of this Premium service. These include TV shows like ‘Silicon Valley’, ‘Veep’, ‘The Pacific’, ‘Band of Brothers’, and ‘True Detective’, among others.

Movies like ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’, ‘Chariots of Fire’, ‘The Normal Heart’, X-Men series, ‘Water for Elephants, and ‘Kingsmen: The Secret Service’, among others, also form part of the Premium package.

In order to activate this service, one needs to download the Hotstar app since the premium shows and movies will not play on mobile browsers. This membership is a recurring subscription, with monthly charges being deducted at the beginning of each billing period. Currently, one can subscribe only through the web.