JioStar on its path to serve a billion screens, says Akash Ambani

JioStar, the Reliance-Disney venture, races ahead with 600M users and 34% TV share

India’s largest media and entertainment conglomerate, JioStar, is on its path to serve a billion screens across mobile, television (TV) and connected TV (CTV) devices as it continues to expand across platforms and geographies, Akash Ambani, non-executive director, Reliance Industries (RIL), said at the company’s 48th annual general meeting (AGM). 

 

JioStar, the joint venture between RIL’s Viacom18 and The Walt Disney’s India unit, offers over 320,000 hours of content, with over 30,000 hours added every year. With the launch of its streaming platform in February, JioHotstar brought over 600 million users on board within three months.

 

“This included over 75 million connected TVs (CTV). With 300 million paying subscribers, JioHotstar is now the world’s second-largest streaming platform, achieved entirely in India. This record shows the immense potential of the Indian market. In addition, with a 34 per cent TV market share, equal to the next three networks combined, we are well on our path to serve a billion screens across mobile, TV, and CTV devices,” said Akash Ambani. 

 

In comparison, US-based Netflix has over 300 million subscribers across 190 countries, as per its website. As per Statista, Netflix had about 301.63 million subscribers in 2024. Meanwhile, Moneycontrol Pro of RIL-led Network18 Media and Investments Ltd has over one million paid subscribers, making it among the top 15 subscription platforms globally, along with The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, Mukesh Ambani, managing director and chairman, RIL, said in the AGM.

 

He added that Firstpost is growing rapidly as India’s digital-first global view of the world, with a strong presence across platforms.

 

“In May this year, it recorded over 400 million video views, becoming the most viewed Indian English news channel on YouTube globally. It is now India’s first truly global news brand for geopolitics, strategic affairs, culture, and lifestyle. In the coming year, FirstPost will expand further with new bureaus in the key world capitals,” he noted.

 

Speaking at the AGM, Robert Iger, chief executive officer, The Walt Disney Company, said that India is one of the most important and exciting markets for the company globally.

 

“By bringing together Reliance’s digital reach, execution, and understanding of the Indian consumer, combined with Disney’s rich library of world-class storytelling and beloved IP (intellectual property), and India’s strong passion for cricket, JioStar has quickly established itself as a global force in media and entertainment with nearly 300 million paid subscribers. That is truly a remarkable accomplishment in such a short span of time, and we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved so far and even more excited about what lies ahead,” Iger said. 

 

The combined platform of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar has a wide range of Hollywood content, from Disney, NBCUniversal Peacock, Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO, and Paramount, apart from key sports properties. To make it easy for viewers, Akash Ambani explained that the company has built Riya, a new voice-enabled search assistant that will make discovering content effortless.

 

Additionally, JioStar has added more features to enhance the sports viewing experience in JioHotstar. Through VoicePrint, characters on screen will be able to speak in various languages in their own voice through AI voice cloning and lip-sync technology.

 

Another feature, JioLens, will allow viewers to choose between multiple viewing options that viewers can adapt to their personal preferences in a single click. With an upgrade, MaxView 3.0 will allow users to choose between multiple camera angles during a match, choices of language, instant highlights and live scorecards, everything on the same screen, accessible with a swipe, Akash Ambani noted.