JioHotstar, the streaming service backed by India’s Reliance Industries that boasts over 500 million monthly active users, is expanding into the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The company announced a partnership with Starzplay, one of the region’s leading streaming platforms, on Tuesday. This move follows JioHotstar’s recent international debut in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Singapore last September.
Under the new agreement, JioHotstar will feature a dedicated section within the Starzplay application and on its website. This integration will provide users with access to a wide array of Indian films, television series, original productions, and reality shows available in multiple languages. This strategy differs from JioHotstar’s earlier overseas launches, where it operated as a standalone service replacing Hotstar.
The expansion aligns with Reliance’s broader objective to establish JioHotstar as a global streaming powerhouse after securing a massive domestic audience. The MENA region presents a significant opportunity due to its large South Asian diaspora, which represents a substantial potential viewer base for Indian entertainment.
While JioHotstar’s domestic sports offerings will not be included in the MENA launch, the platform will be available through bundled plans with Starzplay. A combined package featuring JioHotstar and Starzplay’s sports content, including cricket, is priced at AED 49.99, or approximately $13.60 per month. Alternatively, subscribers can access JioHotstar via Starzplay’s Plus plan for AED 34.99, roughly $9.50 monthly.
New JioHotstar original productions are scheduled to premiere in the region simultaneously with their Indian release, with audio tracks available in up to 10 languages. The content library includes Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengla programming, featuring popular titles such as Bigg Boss and Koffee with Karan. Particular emphasis is being placed on Malayalam content to cater to the region’s sizable Malayali community.
JioHotstar was formed in 2024 following an $8.5 billion joint venture between Reliance and Disney to merge their Indian media operations. The service, which combines JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, launched in India in February 2025. Prior to this, Hotstar was distributed in MENA through a partnership with evision, the media and entertainment arm of e&, which also holds a significant stake in Starzplay.
Starzplay currently reports over 2.3 million subscribers, having cultivated a substantial South Asian audience partly through its cricket coverage. Financial details of the JioHotstar partnership were not disclosed. Starzplay CEO Maaz Sheikh characterized the move as a strategic investment in bringing JioHotstar to the platform.
Love that they’re highlighting Malayalam films specifically. Representation matters!
Is $13.60 competitive when local options are cheaper? I’ll wait and see if the library justifies it.
Wait, no sports? That seems like a huge miss for the Indian diaspora who love cricket.
Finally, quality Malayalam content available here! Much needed for our community.