JioHotstar lands in the Middle East and North Africa inside Starzplay
Indian streamer JioHotstar is now available across the Middle East and North Africa inside Abu Dhabi-based Starzplay.
The launch was reported on 6 October 2026, and it comes through a partnership between the two companies, according to Variety. It follows earlier rollouts for JioHotstar in the U.K., Canada and Singapore.
Viewers in the region will find JioHotstar as a dedicated hub, meaning a branded section, inside the Starzplay app and website. There is no separate JioHotstar app needed. Starzplay said it operates across MENA and Pakistan and has 2.3 million subscribers, with its app downloaded more than 18 million times.
The catalogue covers Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Bangla-language titles. New JioHotstar originals will be available to MENA viewers at the same time as their release in India, with audio in up to 10 languages.
The scale is large. JioHotstar claims 500 million monthly active users and says its library holds more than 300,000 hours of programming in 19 languages.
There are two ways to pay. JioHotstar content is included in Starzplay's Plus plan at AED34.99 ($9.50) a month. A Max plan pairs the full JioHotstar line-up with sports rights at AED49.99 ($13.60) a month.
That sports element builds on Starzplay's existing sports offer, which was made available in 19 markets including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, according to Broadband TV News.
The arrival got a loud welcome in Dubai. JioHotstar marked the launch by projecting its Big Bang visual onto the Burj Khalifa.
For fans, this means no wait for new Indian originals and a choice between an entertainment-only price and a higher tier with sport. The crew behind those shows keeps the same release date in two regions at once.
