JioHotstar streaming platform launched, tie-up of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar
The new streaming platform JioHotstar has been launched on Friday. It brings together JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. The entire content of both over-the-top platforms will be available in JioHotstar. Apart from shows and movies from JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar, content from various international studios and streaming platforms will also be shown on it. In the last few years, with the internet becoming cheaper, the popularity of streaming platforms has increased rapidly.
Last year, the joint venture JioStar was formed after the merger of Viacom18 and Star India. JioStar has announced the launch of JioHotstar in a press release. The company said that the new streaming platform will have about three lakh hours of content as well as live coverage of sports events. JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar have a user base of more than 50 crores which is the combined users of both platforms. However, it is not clear whether this user base includes the number of users who have accounts on both platforms.
The logo of JioHotstar is also new. Access to this platform has been kept free for now. Users will not need a subscription to watch movies, shows or live sports events on it. However, it is not clear whether a paywall has been put up for special content or not. This streaming platform has subscription plans for an uninterrupted and better experience. This means that paying subscribers will not be shown ads and they will be able to stream content at high resolution. Existing subscribers of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar will be automatically shifted to the new platform.
The company has said that users will be able to set-up their JioHotstar subscription when they login for the first time. JioHotstar plans will start from Rs 149 for new subscribers. Content will be available in 10 Indian languages on JioHotstar. Content from Disney, NBCUniversal Peacock, Warner Bros, Discovery HBO and Paramount can also be watched on it. The company has said that international premieres of events will also be shown on this platform. A new section called Sparks has also been started on this platform. It will showcase popular digital content creators through different formats.
