A peek into Hotstar's global ambitions

Star India’s OTT service to become its flagship on-demand video product in international markets

Hotstar has been readying itself for an international launch. It could be as early as June or July this year

The company is currently beta testing its international version and has already begun a soft rollout on Android in the Middle East

It is likely to replicate its Indian content strategy overseas (a mix of cricket and entertainment)

Hotstar will go global with a subscription model, putting all its content behind a paywall

Hotstar, Star India’s over-the-top (OTT) service, has been quietly readying itself for an international launch. According to a company executive familiar with the matter, the launch could happen as early as June or July this year.

The executive told The Ken that Star India is yet to finalise the regions for Hotstar’s international debut. Based on the response of its web/desktop version, South Asia minus India (Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka), the Middle East (ME) and the United States of America (USA) have emerged as the company’s likeliest launchpads.

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Venkat Ananth

Venkat is currently in his tenth year in journalism. Prior to The Ken, he was Deputy Content Editor at Mint as part of the newspaper’s digital team. He also wrote in-depth features on the business of sport for the newspaper. His earlier assignments include Yahoo! (as a columnist) and the Hindustan Times, where he began his career. Born in Mumbai, Venkat holds a Bachelor of Mass Media (Journalism) degree from SIES College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Mumbai and a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London. He currently resides in New Delhi, where he moved nearly five years ago.

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