JioHotstar surpasses 100 million paid subscribers after Disney-Reliance merger

JioHotstar, the newly merged streaming platform combining Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema, has reached a major milestone by surpassing 100 million paid subscribers, the company announced on Thursday.

This achievement follows the February joint venture between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL) and The Walt Disney Co., which saw the integration of RIL’s Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd. with Disney’s Star India, creating the unified platform.

A New Era of Streaming

Nita M. Ambani leads the Reliance-Disney joint venture, with broadcast expert Uday Shankar serving as vice-chairperson. Kiran Mani, CEO of JioStar, shared, “Reaching 100 million subscribers confirms that we’re heading in the right direction. This milestone reflects India’s vast potential and strengthens our commitment to delivering world-class experiences at an unmatched scale. As we grow, we aim to shape the future of streaming, making it accessible to everyone and creating limitless opportunities for millions of screens.”

Dominating the Streaming Landscape

JioHotstar’s combined platform now boasts more paid subscribers than both Netflix and Prime Video, with a total subscriber count far surpassing Netflix’s 15 million and Prime Video’s 18 million. The platform also claims to have significantly more hours of programming than its global competitors—three to four times larger, according to experts. JioHotstar is also eyeing acquisitions of smaller, niche, language-specific streaming platforms.

Challenges and Competition in India’s Streaming Market

Despite its impressive subscriber base, JioHotstar faces hurdles in India’s fiercely competitive streaming market. Industry experts point out that, before the merger, JioCinema struggled with insufficient marketing and content discovery for its expanding catalog. The company has also faced challenges in balancing content creation with audience engagement.

JioHotstar’s strategy for subscription-based services will need to be carefully reevaluated to meet the demands of the crowded Indian market, where competition from established global streaming giants and local players is intense.