JioHotstar Goes Global, Launches in UK, Canada and Singapore With 160,000+ Hours of Content
JioHotstar has officially taken its streaming platform beyond India, launching in the United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore as it begins its push toward becoming a global entertainment service.
The international rollout, which went live on September 2, brings more than 160,000 hours of entertainment across 12+ Asian languages to audiences in the three markets. The catalogue covers Indian films, television, regional programming, originals, reality shows, children’s content and anime.
JioHotstar Targets Indian Audiences Overseas
The expansion is particularly aimed at the large South Asian diaspora in the UK, Canada and Singapore, while also attempting to introduce a wider international audience to Indian stories, languages and cultures.
JioHotstar isn’t simply taking its existing Indian catalogue overseas. The company says the international version has been designed around personalised recommendations, interactive viewing features and a revamped streaming experience.
The platform also plans to keep expanding its library, with more than 30,000 hours of fresh content expected to be added every year.
What Can Viewers Watch?
The launch lineup brings together a mixture of established favourites and newer productions.
JioHotstar’s international catalogue includes originals and popular series such as Asur, Special Ops, Criminal Justice, Heartbeat and Resort. Viewers will also have access to films including Dhurandhar, 12th Fail, Chhichhore, Kesari Chapter 2 and Kill.
The service is also bringing content from JioStar’s television network, including channels such as Star Plus, Colors, Star Vijay, Asianet, Star Jalsha and Star Pravah.
For selected shows, viewers in Canada and Singapore will receive access before their television broadcasts, while UK audiences can watch certain programming simultaneously with its TV airing.
Bigg Boss Becomes Interactive Overseas
One of the more notable additions is the international rollout of Bigg Boss with interactive features.
The reality franchise will be available across six languages, with viewers in the UK, Canada and Singapore able to participate in live voting across the different editions.
Canada and the UK will also receive access to a 24/7 Bigg Boss live feed, while Canadian viewers will be able to watch Bigg Boss Hindi seven days before its television broadcast.
JioHotstar is also bringing the new game show India Ka Top 1 Percent, hosted by Anil Kapoor, to audiences in Canada and Singapore.
New Subscription Plans
The international launch also introduces quarterly subscription options alongside annual plans.
Market Quarterly Annual
UK £19.99 £69.99
Canada C$19.99 C$49.99
Singapore S$29.98 S$69.98
Existing Hotstar subscribers in these markets can transition to equivalent JioHotstar plans using their current credentials, with the company promising no disruption to their service.
The service is available on mobile devices and connected TVs through the relevant app stores.
What About Live Sports?
Interestingly, JioHotstar’s international debut does not replicate the sports-heavy offering available in India.
Major live sporting properties, including cricket events such as the IPL, are not part of the initial international launch because of existing rights agreements. That makes the overseas service considerably different from JioHotstar’s Indian offering, where live sports remain a major part of the platform.
JioHotstar’s Bigger Global Ambition
The launch represents an important step for JioStar as it looks beyond India’s enormous streaming market.
With more than 500 million active users in its ecosystem, JioHotstar already operates at enormous scale domestically. The international expansion now gives the company an opportunity to build a global audience around Indian entertainment rather than limiting the platform to viewers in India.
For Indian viewers living abroad, the move also means a much larger selection of familiar movies, shows and regional-language programming under one streaming service.
And this may only be the beginning. The UK, Canada and Singapore are being positioned as the first major steps in JioHotstar’s international journey, with further expansion potentially coming in the future.
