Hotstar and JioCinema merge into JioHotstar as Reliance tightens grip on streaming in India

Hotstar and JioCinema, two widely used video streaming apps in India, have merged into JioHotstar.

JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance-owned Viacom18 and Star India, said Friday it had integrated JioCinema’s vast library of content into a revamped version of Disney’s Hotstar platform.

The merged app, live as of early Friday local India time, will feature hundreds of thousands of hours of local content, more than 100 TV channels as well as movies and TV shows from Disney, Warner Bros, HBO, NBCUniversal and Paramount. JioHotstar aims to reach more than 500 million users in the country.  

JioHotstar, which offers content in 19 languages and produces 30,000 hours of television programming annually, has subscription plans starting at ₹149 ($1.71) for three months (ad-supported) and ₹299 ($3.45) per month for ad-free experience. The ad-free tier allows simultaneous viewing across four screens at once, whereas the cheapest ad-supported model limits that to one screen.

The consolidation follows Reliance’s $8.5 billion merger with Walt Disney’s Indian assets last year, which created a joint venture that controls about 85% of India’s streaming market and half of television viewership.

“Entertainment is no longer a privilege, but a shared experience for all,” said Kiran Mani, JioStar’s digital chief executive. The group said existing JioCinema subscribers would transition to JioHotstar once their current subscriptions expire.

The merger brings India’s most valuable sports rights under one platform, including cricket properties such as the Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council tournaments, alongside the soccer Premier League and FIFA World Cup.

JioCinema’s app will be phased out after existing customers’ subscriptions expire. JioCinema subscribers will be able to “seamlessly” transition and set up their JioHotstar subscriptions, the company told TechCrunch.

The consolidation reflects the difficulties foreign media groups have faced in India’s price-sensitive market. Netflix and Amazon Prime have also struggled to grow paid subscriptions despite heavy investment in local content.

Amazon, which last year acquired MX Player, is aggressively expanding the new video streaming app with more than 100 original shows and movies this year. MX Player was the third most popular video streaming app in December, right behind Hotstar and JioCinema, according to Sensor Tower.