Bob Iger today called dominant Indian media giant JioStar “a global force in media and entertainment” following its creation earlier this year.
Speaking at Reliance Industries‘ Annual General Meeting via videolink, the Disney CEO paid tribute to Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani for his “leadership” of the venture, which launched earlier this year, and pointed to India‘s importance to the House of Mouse.
“India is one of the most important and exciting markets for Disney globally,” he said. “Its scale, diversity and deep love for storytelling present enormous opportunities. Through JioStar, we are delivering the very best in entertainment and sports, reaching audiences at an unprecedented scale.
“By bringing together Reliance’s digital reach, execution and understanding of the Indian consumer, combined with Disney’s rich library of world-class storytelling and beloved IP and, of course, India’s strong love for cricket, JioStar has quickly established itself as a global force in media and entertainment, with nearly 300 paid subscribers. That is truly a remarkable accomplishment in such a short span of time.”
JioStar launched earlier this year after Disney and Reliance merged their media assets under one roof, with the U.S. company owning about 37% and Reliance the rest of the combined $8.5B beast. Via cell, TV and connected devices, Reliance claims a 35% share of the TV market, equal to its biggest three network rivals combined.
Bringing together JioCinema, which Reliance operated through subsidiary Viacom18, and Disney+ Hotstar, they launched streamer JioHotstar as part of a stated plan to reach “across a billion screens.” JioHotstar quickly amassed 100 million subscribers and has been growing quickly since.
“With 300 million paying subscribers, JioHotstar is now the world’s second-largest streaming platform – achieved entirely in India,” said Reliance’s Ambani. “This record shows the immense potential of the Indian market.”
Ambani called JioStar’s formation “a defining moment for India’s media ecosystem” that had “created a revolution by strategically leveraging content, AI, and technology to reshape how stories are told, delivered, and experienced.”
JioStar offers some 320,000 hours of content, six times that of its closest rivals, he added, with JioHotstar drawing 600 million users within three months of launch, half of which are now paying.
“We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved so far and even more excited about what lies ahead, so on behalf of all of us at Disney, thank you for your partnership and enjoy the meeting,” Iger said, closing his speech.
Watch the video here, via CNBC Awaaz.