Reliance's JioHotstar takes its streaming empire global — without sports | TechCrunch

The Indian media conglomerate Reliance Industries is launching its streaming platform, JioHotstar, internationally for the first time.

The service will officially replace the older Hotstar brand in three key international markets: the United Kingdom, Canada, and Singapore. This transition means the legacy application will be discontinued in these regions, and subscribers will need to shift to the new JioHotstar application, which is being made available across mobile app stores and connected television systems. While users can carry over their existing login credentials, they will be greeted with a revised catalog focused entirely on entertainment content. The service enters these new regions boasting a massive catalog containing thousands of hours of films, television series, and live television channels across twelve distinct languages, specifically targeting both the South Asian diaspora and global viewers interested in international cinema.

Unlike its domestic counterpart in India, where cricket and other live sports serve as a primary subscription driver, the newly launched international service will completely lack live sports broadcasts initially. Company representatives attributed this limitation to current media rights obligations, though they left open the possibility of securing sports streaming rights in these territories down the line. Despite the absence of popular sports offerings, the subscription pricing for the new platform remains comparable to what users previously paid for the legacy platform, with various quarterly and annual pricing tiers. This strategic expansion represents the next phase of growth following a major joint venture in India that combined the media properties of Reliance and Disney, aiming to establish a stronger foothold among millions of prospective viewers living abroad.