How To Watch Disney Hotstar In Australia With A VPN

Hotstar, owned by global entertainment giant Disney, is one of the most popular video streaming services in India, with more than 38 million users in the country at the end of 2023.

The platform was originally launched in 2015, as part of 21st Century Fox’s Star network in India. It rose to prominence through the live streaming of the Cricket World Cup and later by acquiring the rights to broadcast the bestselling Indian Premier League cricket tournament.

Disney gained ownership of Hotstar through its $US71 billion ($110 AUD) acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, which brought together original programming from the two US media giants onto a single platform.

Its popular content includes over 2,000 movies titles, Indian and American TV series, National Geographic documentaries, Marvel and Pixar shows, as well as live coverage of ICC tournaments, Asian Cup soccer, and International Hockey federation tournaments.

While limited Hotstar content is available in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Canada, the UK and the US (on Hulu), the unlimited Disney+ Hotstar programming is geo-restricted to India only.

A key reason for this is that the streaming service signs content licensing deals limited to certain geographies, so it is obliged to actively restrict users elsewhere from accessing these titles.

So if you are trying to access Disney Plus Hotstar content from anywhere else in the world, you will end up with an error message because the streaming giant geo-blocks its content in other regions.

While compatriot streaming service Disney+ is available in Australia, it does not provide access to Hotstar content. That means the only way around Disney+ Hotstar’s geo-restriction is to use a VPN with an Indian server.

When you switch on a VPN, your internet traffic is encrypted and routed to an India-based server operated by the VPN company. This allows you to trick the streaming service provider’s servers into thinking you are located within India.

A few simple steps will allow you to access Disney+ Hotstar content via a VPN –

1. Sign up to a secure and reliable VPN service from your preferred provider
2. Connect to an Indian server. A number of such servers are available, so refer to the providers website or customer service to gauge your best options.
3. Visit the Hotstar website to create a new account, or log in to an existing one. Then choose a suitable subscription plan.
4. Enter an Indian mobile number to receive a one-time password (OTP). You will need to seek the help of friends or family in India for this.
5. Once you have entered the payment details, you will have access to Hotstar’s India library.

Hotstar offers a monthly subscription for 299 Indian rupees ($5.50 a month).

It has two tiered annual packages for 899 rupees ($16.50 a year) and 1,499 rupees ($27.50 a year).

Disney employs geo-blocking technology, which some tech experts consider to be more advanced than Netflix’s restrictions. In addition, the media giant also discourages the use of VPNs by blocking connections from known VPN servers, often resulting in an error message.

Disney+ Hotstar has signed content licensing deals that are only limited to India, particularly for its array of live sports coverage, so the platform is obliged to actively restrict users in other parts of the world from accessing these.

You also need to keep in mind that an additional challenge for accessing Hotstar content is signing up to the streaming service in the first place.

The India-based platform only allows you to sign up with an Indian mobile number on which its sends a one-time password for verification. This would generally involve getting friends or family in India to help.

The best VPN providers generally maintain their reach by ensuring they have a number of active servers in different countries. On the other hand, free or cheaper VPNs don’t have the resources to replace servers that have been blacklisted by a streaming service provider like Disney.

Some reliable providers whose VPNs consistently work with most streaming services include:

• NordVPN: It is considered one of the best VPNs for accessing streaming services like Disney+Hotstar because of its fast speeds and top notch security features.
• Surfshark: This is a good budget option, as it offers access for multiple devices and provides reliable customer and technical support.
• ExpressVPN: The service is known for its fast speeds and provides a stable connection as well as adequate bandwidth needed to stream Hotstar content.
• CyberGhost: It is capable of unblocking a wide range of streaming services, including Disney+Hotstar and provides excellent speeds.