JioHotstar Officially Launched: Reliance and Disney’s joint venture has launched JioHotstar by combining two of India’s biggest streaming platforms, which will compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
This new platform, which brings together JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar content libraries, is a revamped version of Disney+ Hotstar.
This merger brings India’s most important sports rights under one roof, including Indian Premier League cricket and Worldwide Cricket Chamber tournaments, as well as English Premier League soccer.
This joint venture will also include content from major global studios like Disney, Warner Bros, HBO, NBC Universal Peacock and Paramount.
What the new JioHotstar app brings to customers: No free IPL, modern subscription plans and more.
The untested JioHotstar brings an end to the period of free IPL cricket streaming, as this joint venture is going to convert its huge subscriber base into paying sponsors. The streaming platform will include a cross breed show, where customers can watch content for free at first, but will have to subscribe based on their viewing pattern.
Subscription plans start at ₹149 for three months, which includes ads, while the ad-free premium tier is available for ₹499.
The JioCinema app will be discontinued, and existing customers of both JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar will automatically move to the unused app after their existing subscription expires.
JioStar, formed through Reliance’s $8.5 billion merger with Disney’s Indian Resources in late 2024, currently controls about 85% of India’s streaming market and half of its TV audience. The combined platform boasts over 300,000 hours of content in 10 Indian languages and claims to have a subscriber base of 500 million viewers.
