India’s JioHotstar takes partnership route for Middle East expansion

Before JioHotstar’s launch, Hotstar was available in MENA. Disney Star expanded its distribution deal with evision, e&’s media and entertainment arm, in 2024, making it the regional home of Hotstar Specials. Evision is also a major shareholder in Starzplay, where JioHotstar will now have its first dedicated streaming presence in the region.

Starzplay counts more than 2.3 million subscribers and has built a sizable South Asian audience in part through its cricket offering.

Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. Starzplay CEO Maaz Sheikh described bringing JioHotstar to the platform as a “strategic investment.”