Indian streamer JioStar is building commerce into a third revenue stream alongside advertising and subscriptions, entertainment CEO Kevin Vaz said at APOS 2026 Tuesday, pointing to live integrations with food delivery platforms and branded movie premiere partnerships as early evidence of a shift he expects to accelerate as cyclical pressure bears down on the Indian ad market.
Vaz told the audience that JioHotstar, India’s leading streaming service, has surpassed 500 million monthly active users and 260 million paid subscriptions, and now counts more than one billion app downloads and full pin code coverage across India, offering consumers access to roughly 300,000 hours of content. JioStar’s broader linear business operates 100 channels and reaches more than 85 million connected TV households.
The platform was created in three months after the merger of Viacom18 and The Walt Disney Company’s India operations closed on Nov. 14, 2024 – a consolidation timeline Vaz described as unusually swift by global industry standards. “We are getting two highly successful companies together, each with their own technology, content, consumer base, and cultures, and bringing them together,” Vaz said.
