JioHotstar expands to Middle East and North Africa regions, bringing Indian entertainment to more viewers

India’s one of the largest online streaming platforms, JioHotstar is expanding its operations across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regions. The company expanded across the UK, Canada, and Singapore, and now its latest international push brings the platform to one of the world’s largest and most diverse markets for South Asian audiences.

With launches in MENA regions, viewers across countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Morocco, among others, will be able to watch content in up to 10 languages, including Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Bangla and other languages, popular television content from JioStar TV channels, films and some of the country’s biggest reality franchises, including the upcoming season of Koffee with Karan, and the ongoing season of Bigg Boss across six languages.

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JioHotstar expands to MENA

JioHotstar is launching in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) through a partnership with STARZPLAY. This means JioHotstar will be available as a dedicated section inside the STARZPLAY app and website, instead of a standalone app. Therefore, to watch JioHotstar content, viewers will have to opt for a monthly subscription plan for STARZPLAY that also includes JioHotstar.

Amit Malhotra, Head of International Business, JioStar, said, “As we build JioHotstar into a truly global streaming platform, MENA is a crucial next market, with one of the world’s largest South Asian diaspora communities and a deep appetite for entertainment across languages.”

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“Our partnership with STARZPLAY allows us to enter the region with scale and bring audiences the breadth of JioHotstar, from new originals and daily television to blockbuster films and iconic reality franchises,” he added.

As per the press note, there are two STARZPLAY plans: Plus, which includes JioHotstar's multilingual entertainment library, and Max, which includes everything from JioHotstar + STARZPLAY's sports content, including cricket. The Plus plan is priced at AED 34.99 per month, and the Max plan is priced at AED 49.99 per month.

Therefore, JioHotstar is using STARZPLAY's existing MENA platform and audience to bring Indian entertainment to viewers in the region, while STARZPLAY gets to strengthen its South Asian content offering.