JioHotstar: Merging the Best of Hotstar and JioCinema

A day before the highly anticipated launch of JioHotstar—formed from the merger of Hotstar and JioCinema, two of India’s largest content providers—the 36th-floor office of JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Star India, feels unexpectedly quiet. It seems to be the calm before the storm.

Different Genere Content 

As a combined entity, JioHotstar boasts a library spanning over 100 channels. This gives them the flexibility to cater to various demographics—offering Disney and Nickelodeon content for children, popular shows like Bigg Boss and Koffee with Karan for the youth, and exclusive originals for older viewers.

However, the platform’s key focus is developing longer-form content, consisting of 60-80 episodes—an area where competitors have not yet ventured. While most platforms rely on binge-worthy content, often leaving viewers with nothing new to watch, JioHotstar aims to close this gap by offering daily content updates and encouraging users to return to the platform regularly. CEO of Entertainment, Vaz, states that this is the strategy they plan to use to maintain constant engagement.

There’s also a strategic shift regarding original content, where JioHotstar plans to create family-friendly shows that foster binge-watching experiences, such as Criminal Justice and Murder in Mahim. The platform is aiming to release 2-3 original shows each month, along with 40-50 titles in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and other regional languages. Currently, the platform produces 400-500 hours of regional content, including movies, series, and reality shows, with plans to increase this to over 1,000 hours. Vaz also highlights the global appeal of Southern content, which the platform aims to capitalize on while utilising AI to personalize recommendations across 19 languages.

Additionally, JioHotstar has introduced “Sparks,” a flagship initiative that highlights India’s top digital creators through engaging formats. Around 25-30 creators, including Orry and Bhuvan Bam, are producing their own shows for the platform. “Sparks” will feature a distinctive content format within the JioHotstar app.

Ad-Subscription Driven Streaming

While JioCinema was initially seen as an Advertising Video On Demand (AVOD) platform and Hotstar as a Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) platform, Mani clarifies that the new platform blends both models. JioHotstar will provide a combination of AVOD and SVOD, offering open access to content for everyone. The platform will offer a sampling window of a couple of hours each month, giving users a chance to explore the content. Subscription pricing remains similar to Hotstar’s, starting at Rs 499 annually.

For advertisers, entry packages for small and medium businesses are priced at Rs 20,000, making advertising more accessible. Previously, ads were placed randomly during films or TV shows, disrupting the viewing experience.

Disclaimer: This blog has been written exclusively for educational purposes. The securities mentioned are only examples and not recommendations. This does not constitute a personal recommendation/investment advice. It does not aim to influence any individual or entity to make investment decisions. Recipients should conduct their own research and assessments to form an independent opinion about investment decisions.

Investments in securities market are subject to market risks, read all the related documents carefully before investing.