JioHotstar, the streaming service operated by JioStar, has entered the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) market through a partnership with streaming platform STARZPLAY.
Under the agreement, JioHotstar will be offered as a dedicated content destination on STARZPLAY’s app and website across the region.
The catalogue will feature JioHotstar Originals released alongside their Indian premieres, television programming from JioStar channels, movies and reality shows. Content will be available in several languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Bangla. The lineup will also include the upcoming season of Koffee with Karan and the current season of Bigg Boss in six languages.
Subscription plans and pricing
JioHotstar content will be included in STARZPLAY’s PLUS subscription plan, priced at AED 34.99 ($9.50) per month. Subscribers opting for the MAX plan at AED 49.99 ($13.60) per month will receive access to the JioHotstar catalogue alongside STARZPLAY’s sports content.
The expansion into MENA follows JioHotstar’s entry into the UK, Canada and Singapore in September. At launch, the service offered more than 160,000 hours of entertainment in over 12 Asian languages, spanning films, television series, original productions, regional programming, reality shows, children’s content and anime.
The platform also introduced quarterly and annual subscription options in those markets, with existing Hotstar subscribers moved to corresponding JioHotstar plans.
Focus on South Asian audiences
JioStar said the MENA offering will feature an extensive Malayalam content library to cater to the region’s Malayali population. The company also aims to serve the broader South Asian diaspora while attracting other viewers interested in Indian entertainment.
Amit Malhotra, Head of International Business at JioStar, identified MENA as an important market because of its large South Asian diaspora and demand for multilingual content.
Maaz Sheikh, CEO of STARZPLAY, said the collaboration would bring together JioHotstar’s Indian entertainment catalogue and STARZPLAY’s regional presence and streaming infrastructure.
JioHotstar reports more than 500 million monthly active users and a content library exceeding 300,000 hours across 19 languages.
The latest expansion forms part of the company’s efforts to establish JioHotstar as an international streaming platform. Its September rollout across the UK, Canada and Singapore marked the brand’s first major expansion beyond India.
