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Type of business | Streaming |
---|---|
Type of site | OTT platform |
Available in | |
Predecessor(s) | Voot Voot Kids |
Successor(s) | Disney+ Hotstar (pending) [1] |
Headquarters | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
Area served | Indian Subcontinent |
Owner | JioStar |
Founder(s) | Mukesh Ambani |
Key people | |
Industry | |
Products | |
Services | |
URL | www |
Commercial | Yes |
Registration | Optional |
Launched | 4 May 2016 |
Current status | Active |
JioCinema is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries, Viacom18 and Disney India. the service was launched on 4th May 2016.
In April 2022, the service was brought under Reliance's Viacom18 joint venture, backed by new funding from Uday Shankar and James Murdoch's Bodhi Tree Systems. JioCinema began to subsume Viacom18's existing streaming platform Voot later that year, beginning with sports programming in October, and Voot being officially discontinued in favour of JioCinema in August 2023.
JioCinema was launched on 5 September 2016 by Jio Platforms as part of a suite of apps and services exclusive to Jio mobile subscribers, with JioCinema app for Android and iOS. In December 2017, JioCinema added a web-based version for PCs. [2] [3] A JioCinema app was also released for Jio's KaiOS-based Jio Phone. [4]
In 2019, Intex, [5] TCL, [6] [7] and Xiaomi [8] [9] announced that they would include JioCinema apps with their smart TVs.
In April 2022, Viacom18—a joint venture between Paramount Global and Jio's parent company Network18 Group—announced that Qatar-backed Bodhi Tree Systems (founded by former Disney Asia-Pacific president Uday Shankar and former 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch) would make a major investment in the company with a focus on bolstering its streaming businesses. As part of the deal, JioCinema would be brought under Viacom18. [10] In September 2022, the Competition Commission of India approved the transaction, which was completed in April 2023. [11] [12] [10]
In October 2022, ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, it was announced that Viacom18 sports content would move from their existing streaming platform Voot to Jio Cinema, with all World Cup matches streaming for free. [13] [14] The platform was made available to all users, including non-Jio users. Its coverage faced criticism from viewers on social media for initially having technical issues such as buffering; JioCinema stated that it would work to address these issues. [15]
JioCinema launched a premium tier on 15 May 2023, anchored by a content agreement with Warner Bros. Discovery that saw rights to HBO and Max original productions move to JioCinema from its competitor, Disney+ Hotstar. [16] JioCinema also announced a similar library agreement with NBCUniversal, including Universal Pictures, Universal Television, and Peacock productions. [17]
Voot began to migrate its original productions to JioCinema in June 2023, including new seasons of Asur and Bigg Boss OTT. In August 2023, Voot was discontinued, with JioCinema assuming its content library, and existing Voot Select subscribers being migrated to JioCinema Premium. [18] [19]
In October 2024, Employees of RIL revealed that Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema will officially merge into a single platform. Back in February 2024, Reliance and Disney agreed on a $8.5 billion merger of their media assets. Nita Ambani will serve as the chairperson of the merged entity while Uday Shankar from Bodhi Tree Systems will be the vice-chair. [20] [21] Shortly after news of the merger reached the media and the public, a user known as "A Dreamer" registered the domain name "jiohotstar.com". The user requested Reliance to fund his education in exchange for the domain; initially requesting £93,345 from Reliance, matching the fees for his education programme. However, this request was turned down by Ambujesh Yadav, AVP of Commercials at Reliance. [22]
In December 2018, JioCinema partnered with Disney India [25] [26] [27] to offer Disney content on the JioCinema app. Disney has withdrawn from this deal after the introduction of Disney+ Hotstar in India.
In December 2019, JioCinema partnered with Sun NXT to host over 4,000 films available on the Sun NXT platform [28] [29] [30] [31] across four Indian languages: Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam. In May 2020, JioCinema partnered with Hoichoi to provide Hindi-dubbed Bengali content. [32]
In May 2022, Paramount Global announced that Paramount+ would launch in India through Viacom18 in 2023, however Paramount never launched its streaming platform in India and instead brought their content to JioCinema Premium.
In April 2023, Jio Studios unveiled a slate of 100 new titles that would eventually be available on JioCinema. [33] The same month, Warner Bros. Discovery announced an agreement with JioCinema for it to carry HBO and Max original programming, as well as other Warner Bros. Television Studios content. The deal succeeds a previous agreement with Hotstar and Amazon Prime Video, respectively. [34] [35] HBO content would premiere day-and-date with their U.S. broadcast. [16] HBO and Warner Bros. content would launch in May 2023 as part of the new JioCinema Premium tier.
In May 2023, NBCUniversal announced a similar agreement, which will add a Peacock hub to JioCinema Premium featuring first-run and library content from Universal Television, Universal Pictures, Universal Content Productions, and Sky Studios, along with Peacock original programming. [17]
In November 2023, Viacom18 secured a deal to bring Pokémon shows and movies to JioCinema. [36]
In May 2024, JioCinema struck the deal with anime licensor Muse Communication to bring the Anime series into their JioCinema Premium subscription, including to simulcast the fourth season of hit anime Demon Slayer. [37]
Title | Premiere date | Original language(s) | Genre |
---|---|---|---|
The Comedian | 29 September 2023 [70] | Hindi | Comedy-drama |
Birha : The Journey Back Home | 30 September 2023 [71] | Punjabi | Drama |
Bebaak | 1 October 2023 [72] | Hindi | |
Rat in the Kitchen | 2 October 2023 | Neo-noir thriller | |
Mein Mehmood | 3 October 2023 | Drama | |
Gangster Ganga | 4 October 2023 | ||
Munna Ka Bachpan | 5 October 2023 | ||
Ghuspaith | 6 October 2023 | ||
The Daughter | 7 October 2023 | ||
Laar | 8 October 2023 | ||
Kofuku | 9 October 2023 | ||
Armaand | 10 October 2023 [73] | ||
Coming Out With The Help Of A Time Machine | 11 October 2023 | ||
The Last Envelope | 12 October 2023 | ||
Murakh: The Idiot | 13 October 2023 | ||
Maachis Ki Dibiya | 14 October 2023 | ||
Ring Mili Kya | 15 October 2023 | Comedy | |
Dammy | 16 October 2023 | Drama | |
Before We Die | 17 October 2023 | ||
Phone Call | 18 October 2023 |
As of April 2024, JioCinema has re-launched 'JioCinema Premium' subscription, with pricing starting at Rs. 29 per month. [74] This service offers ad-free streaming, support for up to 4K video quality, and offline viewing capabilities. Additionally, a family plan available at Rs. 89 per month allows simultaneous access on four screens. [75] [76]
As per Statista's Q2 2020 report, JioCinema has a 7% market share among many competitors like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which have a 20% market share each; Disney+ Hotstar, which has a 17% market share; ZEE5 with a 9% market share; ALTBalaji and SonyLIV, which have a 4% market share each; and other streaming platforms, which have a 19% market share. [77]
The 2023 Indian Premier League final set a new record for concurrent viewership of a streaming broadcast; JioCinema reported that the match peaked at 32 million concurrent viewers (beating a record set during the 2019 Cricket World Cup by Hotstar) and was seen by over 120 million unique viewers. [78] [79]
Network18 Group, is an Indian media conglomerate, based in Mumbai. It is owned by Reliance Industries. Rahul Joshi is the managing director, chief executive officer and group editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, and Adil Zainulbhai is the chairman of its board of directors.
Viacom18 Media Private Limited is a formerly independent Indian media conglomerate, currently part of JioStar. It is a Joint venture between Reliance Industries, Network18 and Bodhi Tree Systems. The joint-venture had various channels and content production studios in India. Following merger of its assets with Disney Star, it continues to be largest shareholder in the newly formed merged entity.
The Walt Disney Company India, also known as Disney India, is the Indian subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
An over-the-top media service is a digital distribution service offered directly to viewers via the public Internet, rather than through an over-the-air, cable, or satellite-based provider. The term is synonymous with "streaming platform", such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video which provide access to subscription-based film and television content (SVoD).
JioStar, registered as Star India Private Limited is an Indian media conglomerate joint venture. Though Reliance Industries owns 16.34% of the joint venture, while Viacom18 holds 46.82% and Disney India 36.84%, the JV is controlled by Reliance Industries. In November 2024, assets of Viacom18 merged with Disney Star to form JioStar. It is the largest television and entertainment network in India. It operates more than 100 TV channels and owns two major streaming platforms, Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema.
Friday Filmworks is an Indian film production house founded by film director Neeraj Pandey and producer Shital Bhatia in 2008.
Disney+ Hotstar is an Indian subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries, Viacom18 and Disney India.
Voot was an Indian subscription video-on-demand and over-the-top streaming service owned by Viacom18, a joint venture between Reliance Industries, Network18 and Viacom. The service was initially launched on 4 May 2016. It initially launched as an advertising-supported service, before introducing a subscription tier in 2020 under the Voot Select banner.
JioTV is an Indian streaming television service owned by Jio Platforms, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries. JioTV offers more than 1000 live channels with 7 days of catch up content, as per the website.
ZEE5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on Web, Android, iOS, Smart TVs, among other devices. ZEE5 claimed 56 million monthly active users in December 2019.
Bigg Boss is an Indian reality show franchise based on the Dutch reality show Big Brother. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star Networks. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made internationally available through the OTT platforms JioCinema, and Disney+ Hotstar with 24/7 live stream.
Star Sports Network is a group of Indian pay television sports channels owned by JioStar, The network currently holds rights of flagship tournaments like Indian Premier League, ICC Events, Premier League, ONE Championship, Wimbledon, Nepal Premier League etc.
There are currently about 57 providers of over-the-top media services (OTT) in India, which distribute streaming media or video on demand over the Internet.
Sun NXT is an Indian subscription video on demand over-the-top streaming service run by Sun TV Network. It was launched in June 2017 and has content in six languages - Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi and Hindi. Sun NXT app is available for Android and iOS devices, Smart TVs and other devices.
Sports broadcasting contracts in India include:
Bigg Boss OTT is a digital spin-off of the popular Indian Hindi-language reality show Bigg Boss franchise, streamed first on Voot for its initial season and later on JioCinema for the second season and JioCinema Premium for the third. Following the format of the Dutch reality game show Big Brother, developed by Endemol, Bigg Boss OTT has launched three seasons to date. The first season premiered on August 8, 2021, and was hosted by Karan Johar. The second season saw Salman Khan take over as the host, while Anil Kapoor hosted the recently concluded third season. As of now, 45 contestants have participated in Bigg Boss OTT, with 5 of them having also appeared in the main Bigg Boss seasons.