Reliance Debuts JioHotstar in UK, Canada, and Singapore
The streaming giant expands globally with 160,000 hours of content, though it launches without live sports.
Reliance Industries is expanding its streaming footprint beyond India, launching the JioHotstar platform in the UK, Canada, and Singapore on September 2. The move marks the first major international push for the brand, replacing the existing Hotstar service in these three markets.
The new service debuts with a library of over 160,000 hours of entertainment content available in 12 languages, including Hindi, English, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, and Gujarati. To ease the transition, Reliance confirmed that existing Hotstar users can access the new JioHotstar app using their current login credentials. However, the global launch will exclude live sports, such as the IPL, WPL, and national cricket, due to existing content agreements.
Subscription costs vary by region. In the UK, the service is priced at £19.99 quarterly and £69.99 annually. Canadian users will pay CA$19.99 quarterly and CA$49.99 annually, while Singaporean pricing is set at SG$29.98 quarterly and SG$69.98 annually.
The Path to Global Expansion
JioHotstar is the result of a 2024 merger between Disney and Reliance's media assets, which created an $8.5 billion joint venture that combined JioCinema and Hotstar. In its home market of India, the platform has become a dominant force, boasting more than 500 million monthly active users. This domestic success was fueled largely by high-profile sports rights, including the English Premier League and the IPL.
By moving into the UK, Canada, and Singapore, Reliance is specifically targeting the South Asian diaspora. According to data from the Ministry of External Affairs, the potential target audience across these three countries exceeds 4 million people. Amit Malhotra, JioStar’s Head of International Business, noted that South Asian audiences maintain a deep connection with Indian entertainment across generations, while global audiences are increasingly seeking stories from different cultures.
A Strategic Pivot
This international debut represents a significant strategic shift for Reliance. While sports content is the primary engine of growth for JioHotstar in India, the company is attempting to scale its global empire based on entertainment and cultural content alone. This pivot tests whether the brand's library of multilingual films and series can sustain growth without the draw of live athletics.
What to Watch
Industry observers will be monitoring whether the lack of sports hinders adoption among the diaspora, who have historically relied on Hotstar for cricket. It remains to be seen if Reliance will renegotiate existing content deals to bring live sports to these markets in the future or if it will continue to lean into its entertainment catalog as its primary global differentiator.