JioHotstar expands to UK, Canada, and Singapore without live sports

International expansion across three markets

Indian streaming platform JioHotstar launched its service in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Singapore on September 2, 2026. The rollout marks the platform's first overseas expansion, completely replacing the existing Hotstar service in all three countries. Existing Hotstar user credentials will transfer directly to the new platform, though the legacy Hotstar application will cease to function. The service is available across mobile devices through the App Store and Google Play, as well as on connected television platforms. Parent joint venture JioStar is not launching the application in the United States during this initial phase, following the shutdown of Hotstar's standalone American offering in 2021.

Entertainment catalog and absence of live sports

The international platform debuts with a library of more than 160,000 hours of entertainment content across 12 Asian languages, including English, Hindi, Gujarati, Malayalam, Kannada, and Marathi. Content plans call for the addition of 30,000 hours of fresh programming annually. However, JioHotstar is launching overseas without the live sports programming that forms the core of its audience in India, where it has more than 500 million monthly active users. Cricket tournaments, including the Indian Premier League, Women's Premier League, and Indian national team matches, are excluded at launch due to existing regional licensing agreements. Other Indian offerings such as the English Premier League, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, kabaddi, and hockey are also absent, though the company has not ruled out bringing sports content abroad in the future.

Slate of originals, films, and television programming

The launch library features television original series including Asur, Criminal Justice, Special Ops, Pritam & Pedro, Heartbeat, and Resort. Film titles available on the platform include Dhurandhar, 12th Fail, and Chhichhore, alongside a pipeline of scheduled movie premieres. JioHotstar is also releasing a slate of new originals, such as Ali Baba Aur Chaalis Bhoot, Prince of Mollywood, Part Timers, and The Court. Linear programming from JioStar channels, including Star Plus, Colors, Star Vijay, Asianet, Star Jalsha, and Star Pravah, is integrated directly into the application. Other returning non-fiction programs include Koffee With Karan, Khatron Ke Khiladi, MTV Hustle, Splitsvilla, Roadies, and Bhojpuri Bawaal.

Interactive features and subscription pricing

JioHotstar is introducing interactive features tailored to diaspora audiences, including real-time voting for reality franchise Bigg Boss across six languages. Viewers in the United Kingdom and Canada gain access to a 24/7 live stream of Bigg Boss, while Canadian users can view Bigg Boss Hindi seven days prior to television broadcast. A game show titled India Ka Top 1 Percent, hosted by actor Anil Kapoor, is available to subscribers in Canada and Singapore, alongside a Before-TV preview feature for daily drama series such as Anupama and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. Subscription plans have shifted away from monthly tiers for new sign-ups, offering quarterly and annual options. In the United Kingdom, the service costs 19.99 pounds quarterly and 69.99 pounds annually, while Canadian pricing is set at 19.99 Canadian dollars quarterly and 49.99 Canadian dollars annually. In Singapore, rates are 29.98 Singapore dollars quarterly and 69.98 Singapore dollars annually.

Amit Malhotra, head of international business at JioStar, addressed the platform's strategic direction during the international launch.

Streaming has spent the last decade competing on the size of its catalogue.