JioHotstar enters Middle East and North Africa through STARZPLAY partnership
The service will offer Indian originals, films and television through STARZPLAY, with monthly plans starting at AED 34.99 and new originals available alongside their release in India.
Amit Malhotra, head of international business at JioStar, and STARZPLAY CEO Maaz Sheikh
MUMBAI: JioHotstar has announced its entry into the Middle East and North Africa through a partnership with STARZPLAY, expanding its international presence following launches in the UK, Canada and Singapore.
In a statement issued on October 6, JioStar said JioHotstar would be available as a dedicated streaming destination within the STARZPLAY app and website.
The offering includes new JioHotstar Originals released alongside their India premieres, with audio tracks in up to 10 languages, television programmes from JioStar channels, films and reality shows. These include the upcoming season of Koffee with Karan and ongoing seasons of Bigg Boss across six languages.
The library spans Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Bangla and other languages. The company said a substantial Malayalam catalogue would cater to the region’s Malayali audience.
JioHotstar content will be available through STARZPLAY’s PLUS plan at AED 34.99 a month. The MAX plan, priced at AED 49.99 a month, will combine the JioHotstar entertainment offering with STARZPLAY’s sports portfolio.
Amit Malhotra, head of international business at JioStar, said the region was an important market because of its large South Asian diaspora and demand for entertainment across languages. He said the partnership would give JioHotstar access to STARZPLAY’s regional distribution and audience reach.
STARZPLAY CEO Maaz Sheikh said the addition would broaden the platform’s relationship with South Asian viewers beyond cricket to everyday entertainment, including originals, television and films.
The launch was marked by a JioHotstar and STARZPLAY projection on Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.
