Any advice appreciated

[shantaram7766]

Hi, first time poster here. I have been watching free Disney Hotstar for ICC cricket which is great. I would like to create a subscription account to be able to watch full matches, but I cannot as I need to be able to send a OTP (One time passcode) to an Indian mobile to make the account. I have looked and cannot find any other way to create an account currently, although it seems like it was possible previously. Does anyone have any advice or can help me get set up please? I love watching cricket but don't have an Indian mobile.

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

[Atithee]

I think Hotstar’s contract is ending soon. Not sure they’ll carry India matches much longer. Do look into it before going down this path.

[shantaram7766]

Oh really? I just want a good service that shows most of the cricket. India is blessed to be such a cricket happy nation so I thought this is the best place to look. I will just subscribe a month at a time in that case, in case situation changes. Any thoughts on how to create an account without the OTP? Thanks

[Atithee]

I’m not sure where you’re located. If in the US, subscribe to Hulu. They carry all Hotstar matches and also ESPN+ comes with even the basic package, I think. Unless you’re trying to save money by paying Indian subscription pricing. In many cases, you can’t login in a different country. But, it’s a moot point because FYI—Viacom 18 Media Private Limited has acquired the Media Rights from September 2023 to March 2028.

You can also use VPN to get around country restrictions.

[shantaram7766]

This is really useful to know. My motivation is not subscription fees, I am trying to find a decent streaming service for Cricket is all. My home country in NZ using Sky is a disaster of a service and not up to standard with no alternatives. I will investigate other options then since even if I do get hotstar sorted, it's going to be short lived. Thanks very much

[prasen9]

ESPN+ does not carry all matches. I used to have it to watch cricket, and then dropped them.

[Kumar]

Hotstar was way better. ESPN took something that was great and made it crappy. Hot star had religious flavors. Listening to Srikanth and RJ Balaji duking out in tamil was fun. ESPN pared it down to english and hindi. Further, i heard that streaming was not great either.

I dropped cricket after the trial period with ESpN when hotstar switched to ESPn.

[shantaram7766]

Unfortunatly the Hulu/Disney/ESPN isn't going to be an option for me as I need a US credit card to sign up for it. Any other ideas? So frustrating I just want to watch all the best cricket and pay for it.

[Atithee]

Where are you located? First you wanted an Indian phone to get the OTP. Now you say you don’t have a US credit card. If money isn’t an issue, I don’t know how you can’t find a way to watch cricket anywhere in the world. Please be specific so we can advise you better. You can always get an India SIM to get OTP wherever you are, right?

[shantaram7766]

So yeah, hotstar was the solution I chose believing that India is the most likely country to have best cricket streaming as its your national sport. I need Indian mobile to access Hotstar which I am happy to pay for, hence money is not the issue.. that doe not mean I have endless money or can circumvent laws etc. I was taking the suggestion of others to use Hulu, ESPN+ etc and followed that trail but I need a US cc. Geo blocking appears to be the root of the issue, I haver one legal available sports option in my country New Zealand that is unreliable and poorly served where I am. If I could get an Indian mobile number I would. I have tried virtual options and so forth but they do not work or are unavailable from my country. Now it appears likely from this thread, any OTP efforts would be shortlived anyway since Hotstar has lost cricket rights. So yeah, here I am back at the drawing board still wanting to watch cricket and not being able to other than the odd highlights reel. Thanks for lsitening.

[Kumar]

Yes, your options are limited if u don’t have Indian mobile number to watch using hotstar. U don’t have family or friends in india that can tell u the OTP

At this time, u may have to live with subscription offered by sky sports. Typically in US, there are two competing firms ESPN( formerly hotstar) and willow. Pretty much u will need subscription to both services if u want full coverage of all Indian games

Check this article
https://www.howtowatch.co.nz/watch-will ... w-zealand/

Talks about the exact same issue u are having with reference to willow tv. The article has some options for US Cc

[prasen9]

Hockey is the national sport of India, fyi.