Indian streamer JioHotstar has launched in the UK, Canada, and Singapore as part of a move to become a global entertainment platform.
Aimed at the South Asian diaspora as well as a broader global audience, the platform’s offer spans 160,000 hours of television, films, regional programming, non-fiction, kids, and anime content with subtitles and dubs across over 12 Asian languages, including English, Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, and Marathi.
The new service’s line-up of Hotstar Originals includes series such as Asur, Pritam & Pedro, Special Ops, Criminal Justice, Heartbeat, and Resort, as well as films including recent hits Dhurandhar, 12th Fail, and Chhichhore.
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The platform will also offer the reality franchise Bigg Boss across six languages, enabling audiences in the UK, Canada, and Singapore to vote live across all editions. Audiences in Canada and the UK will also have access to the show’s 24×7 Live Feed, while Canadian consumers will be able to watch Bigg Boss Hindi seven days ahead of its TV broadcast.
Audiences in Canada and Singapore will also be able to stream a new format, India Ka Top 1 Percent, hosted by star Anil Kapoor, which tests contestants’ logic and reasoning.
They will also receive early access to content from JioStar television channels – including Star Plus, Colors, Star Vijay, Asianet, Star Jalsha, and Star Pravah – through a Before-TV feature.
JioHotstar launched in India in February 2025 after the merger of Disney India and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries group, which combined Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema. It has more than 500 million monthly active users and around 300,000 hours of programming.
Amit Malhotra, Head, International Business, JioStar, said: “South Asian audiences have a deep connection with Indian entertainment across languages, generations and households. At the same time, audiences globally are increasingly seeking stories and cultures beyond their own. We see an opportunity to build for this broader, underserved global audience – not simply export an Indian streaming service to new markets.”
According to recent research by Ampere Analysis, Asia has become the world’s biggest region for first-run streaming scripted series orders for the first time. Discover more here.
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