JioHotstar Hits 200 Million Subscribers on IPL Boost, Ranks Third Globally

JioHotstar, India's largest streaming platform, has reached a significant milestone by acquiring more than 200 million paying subscribers. According to a Bloomberg report citing a senior executive, the company's multi-language live coverage of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has contributed significantly to its growth.

"That makes us one of the biggest streaming services anywhere in the world," said Uday Shankar, Vice Chairman of JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries Ltd and Walt Disney Co that runs the JioHotstar platform.

Reaching 200 million paid users, primarily from India, in such a short period was "pretty satisfying," Shankar added.

JioHotstar currently trails only Netflix and Prime Video.

According to recent data, JioHotstar is the world's third-largest video streaming platform, trailing only Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. All three platforms are now competing fiercely for dominance in India's thriving and highly competitive OTT market.

While JioStar has attracted users with low-cost subscriptions and high-profile sports content such as the IPL, competitors are expanding their offerings. Netflix is heavily investing in Indian originals, while Prime Video has expanded its content partnerships to include platforms such as Apple TV+ and CrunchyRoll.

Platform targets every potential customer in India.

Shankar, who played a key role in the recently announced Disney-Reliance media merger, stated that the company's overall goal is to reach every potential streaming viewer in the country.

"Our ambition is to get every potential customer in the country onto our platform," he stated, emphasizing JioStar's aggressive push to broaden its reach and content offerings.