Disney+ Hotstar will be sole streaming platform post Star-Reliance merger
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has opted to keep Disney+ Hotstar as its main streaming service, after the merger with Star India. The decision will see the integration of JioCinema into Disney+ Hotstar, utilizing its advanced tech infrastructure. The move will make Disney+ Hotstar the focal streaming platform of the merged entity, which will own over 100 channels and two major streaming services.
RIL's strategy for streaming business
RIL had explored several options for its streaming business, including the merger of Disney+ Hotstar with JioCinema. There were also talks of running two different platforms - one for sports and the other for entertainment content. However, as Disney+ Hotstar had a better tech infrastructure, it was selected as the main platform after the merger.
Disney+ Hotstar's market dominance
Disney+ Hotstar, which is owned by Walt Disney's Star India, has over 500 million downloads on the Google Play Store. JioCinema, on the other hand, has 100 million downloads. According to RIL's annual report, JioCinema had an average of 225 million monthly users, while Disney+ Hotstar had 333 million monthly active users in Q4 2023.
Paid subscribers and content offerings
As of June 2024, Disney+ Hotstar had 35.5 million paid subscribers, a far cry from its peak of 61 million during the Indian Premier League (IPL) and HBO content offerings. Before this merger, Viacom18 had merged its various OTT platforms under the Voot brand into JioCinema. The firm used to operate three platforms: Voot, Voot Select, and Voot Kids.
