India’s OTT Battle Turns Into JioHotstar Or Nothing

‘One ring to rule them all, and in the darkness, bind them’ — the situation perhaps not as morbid as that line from The Lord of the Rings, but the launch of JioHotstar this week marks another pivotal moment for the Indian streaming industry, with Reliance now holding the keys to the kingdom.

Incidentally, the previous such moment also involved Hotstar as the streaming platform moved homes to Disney+ five years ago right in the middle of the Covid pandemic. Since then Disney+ Hotstar not only lost rights to key live sports properties but also marquee international shows, which put it on the backfoot.

Many of those shows and live sports events moved to JioCinema, so in a roundabout way, Hotstar is back to what it was before the pandemic. In fact, we can argue that no OTT or streaming platform in the world has the dominant slate that the all-new JioHotstar now boasts of  — not just movies and global hits, but also live cricket matches watched by hundreds of millions of Indians.

But before we look at the fate of the streaming industry, a short detour into the top stories from our newsroom this week:

• The EV Funding Question: A slowdown in sales across categories, cautious investment climate, and macroeconomic parameters have dampened investor interest in the EV space. What will change this malaise?
• Much Furore Over ‘Latent’: Outrage over Ranveer Allahbadia’s allegedly ‘obscene’ remarks have set India’s social media ecosystem on fire. Did the award-winning influencer cross a line that could have grave implications for the creator economy?
• Shein, Five Years Later: Shein is back in India, but the market has changed in the five year exile for the fast fashion giant. Will Reliance’s backing be enough to dethrone Zudio, NEWME and others that are now ruling the roost?

JioHotstar Goes Large

Putting an end to months of speculation, Disney and Reliance officially announced the signing of binding agreements in late 2024 to create a joint venture, merging Viacom18 with Star India Private Limited.

The combined JioHotstar entity is anticipated to host more than 100 TV channels and two of the country’s most prominent OTT platforms – Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema.

As of now, RIL is set to infuse INR 11,500 Cr into the new platform — an investment that has raised concerns around Reliance gunning for big revenue in the streaming business. Thus far, JioCinema had taken a slower approach to revenue growth, with its subscription plans launching only last year, despite the platform being around since 2022.

If Reliance’s past is any indication, JioHotstar will not go slow on customer acquisition. Armed with the content library that no other platform can boast of, this is Reliance’s new money machine. All indications are that even formerly free content such as the Indian Premier League will now require subscriptions.

According to a Reuters report, viewers will only be able to match a few minutes of an IPL match without a subscription. Post this, users will have to subscribe to plans starting at INR 149.

In other words, it’s the end of the freebie era that defined Reliance’s streaming service till now. In many ways, this is JioHotstar flexing its content muscles and unlocking a huge revenue stream for the Mukesh Ambani-led company. It’s also worth noting that Jio has played it smartly by integrating JioCinema into the larger Disney+Hotstar app rather than the other way around.