Recently, the Indian OTT market witnessed the emergence of a new streaming platform called JioHotstar. JioStar, which is a joint venture between Viacom18 and Star India, officially introduced the JioHotstar platform on 14th February 2025. This streaming platform is not completely new, as two leading streaming platforms, JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, joined hands to create this OTT platform. Hence, JioCinema and Disney+Hotstar are now converted into a single platform, JioHotstar, making it one of the largest streaming platforms in India.
About JioHotstar
JioHotstar is found to be formed with the amalgamation of two well recognised streaming platforms. Through the merger of resources, including content, technology and expertise among JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, the new streaming platform promises to get access to true entertainment. Viewers can see all types of content in the new streaming platform, which they watch on two different OTT platforms. This means the merger enables strengthening the customer base of both the streaming platforms and offering an enhanced number of quality content for subscribers.
According to Kiran Mani, the CEO of Digital JioStar, the new streaming platform seeks “to make premium entertainment truly accessible to all Indians.” With a vast content library catering to the needs and preferences of more than 1.4 billion Indians in around 10 languages, the platform will enable the audiences to watch their favourite movies, shows, live sports, and TV series within a single application.
Kiran Mani also added, that entertainment has no longer been recognised as a privilege, but it becomes a shared experience for everyone. Everyone is invited to JioHotstar to watch their preferred content without the requirement of an immediate subscription. As said by the company, with over 50 crore users and around 3 lakh hours of entertainment, engaging content, and live sports coverage, JioHotstar is most likely to redefine entertainment consumption in India.
Overview of the Indian OTT market
In recent years, the OTT market in India has been rapidly growing, especially after the pandemic. OTT platforms have been revolutionising the entertainment consumption by the consumers. Increasing smartphone adoption, internet penetration and evolving consumer preferences are some of the major drivers of the rapid growth of the Indian OTT market. Cost-effectiveness and ease of convenience to watch a wide range of global content anytime, anywhere are increasing the popularity of OTT platforms in India. As of 2025, the market value of the Indian OTT market is around 322.66 billion US dollars, which is forecasted to grow to 1346.38 billion US dollars by 2034, showing a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 17.20 per cent between 2025 and 2034.
This growing popularity of the OTT market in India is characterised by intense competition and the availability of several players. Some of the key players which dominate the Indian OTT market include Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Disney+Hotstar, JioCinema, Sony Liv and Zee5. The amalgamation between JioCinema and Disney+Hotstar has the potential the fulfilment the evolving expectations of audiences towards entertainment and gain more competitive advantages over the rival groups.
Content offerings and features
JioHotstar will not only stream Indian content but also provide opportunities for users to enjoy Hollywood content from global studios, including NBCUniversal Peacock, Warner Bros, Paramount, Discovery, and HBO. With this initiative, JioHotstar is found to have become the only OTT platform in India to have content from multiple global studios. Popular cricket tournaments, including IPL, WPL and ICC tournaments, will also streamed on the platform along with films and other content. The content library also includes Wimbledon, Premier League, Pro Kabaddi and ISL.
The new OTT platform also included several cutting-edge features to provide a better visual and watch experience to the users and attract more users to watch their content. For example, the viewers can now enjoy 4K streaming, AI-recommended personalised content, multi-angle viewing, as well as real-time stats overlays on the platform. The users can also see a special interest feeds section in the new platform. According to the statement of Kiran Mani, AI-driven recommendation makes it possible to extremely personalise content, which can increase the interest of audiences towards their content. They also seek to offer streaming in more than 19 languages.
A new initiative called “Sparks” has been launched by the platform with the aim of promoting top digital content creators in India. Some of the popular creators who have been seen to be featured in the “Sparks” section include YouTubers Dhruv Shah and Shyam Sharma, social media influencer Uorfi Javed, comedian Zakir Khan, and astrologer Arun Pandit.
Transition process to new platform and subscription plans
Both free and paid content will be available on JioHotstar. In an announcement, the company said that the transition process to the new platform for subscribers of both JioCinema and Disney+Hostar is quite easy. Disney+Hotstar application has been updated to JioHotstar and current subscribers of Disney+Hotstar will not see any change in their subscription plans and benefits. The existing subscription plan will also remain till the end of the plan duration.
On the other hand, the JioCinema app is still available on the Google Play Store; while accessing the app, the users will be redirected to the new platform. Meanwhile, the current subscribers who have access to JioCinema Premium will now get the benefits of the JioHotStar Premium plan for the remaining duration of their current subscription plan. However, until the expiration of their current plan, JioCinema Premium subscribers need to wait to switch to the new streaming platform.
There are currently three subscription plans in the new streaming platform which are the mobile plan, super plan and premium plan. All the plans come with three months and 1-year validity. The ad-supported mobile plan starts at Rs 149 for three months, while the ad-free premium plan for three months is priced at Rs 499.
| Plan Name | Price (3 Months) | Price (1 Year) | Access | Advertisements |
| Mobile Plan | Rs 149 | Rs 499 | Accessible only on one mobile device | Ad-supported |
| Super Plan | Rs 299 | Rs 899 | Accessible on 2 devices across all platforms (Mobile, Web and Living Room devices) | Ad-supported |
| Premium Plan | Rs 499 | Rs 1499 | Accessible on 4 devices across all platforms (Mobile, Web and Living Room devices) | Ad-free (Except live sports and events) |
FAQ
1. What is the new streaming platform formed by JioCinema and Disney+Hotstar?
JioHotstar is the new streaming platform formed by the merger of JioCinema and Disney+Hotstar.
2. How did the merger happen?
On Friday, 14th February 2025, JioStar, the recently formed joint venture between Viacom18 and Star India, announced the merger.
3. What is the current market value of the Indian OTT market?
As of 2025, the market value of the Indian OTT market is around 322.66 billion US dollars, which is forecasted to grow to 1346.38 billion US dollars by 2034, showing a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 17.20 per cent between 2025 and 2034.
4. What kind of content will be available?
The new streaming platform will offer a variety of content, which includes not only original content and Indian films and series but also Hollywood content like films and series from Warner Bros, NBCUniversal Peacock, Discovery, Paramount and HBO.
5. What is the “Sparks” initiative?
A new initiative called “Sparks” has been launched by the new streaming platform with the aim of promoting the top digital content creators in India.