At the 48th Reliance Annual General Meeting (AGM), Disney CEO Bob Iger lauded the rapid growth and success of JioStar, the joint streaming and content venture between Disney and Reliance Industries. Iger addressed Reliance's shareholders, highlighting the extraordinary partnership between the two companies and emphasizing India's significance as a key market for Disney globally.

Iger stated that India's vast scale, diverse culture, and deep appreciation for storytelling present immense opportunities for Disney. He noted that JioStar is delivering top-tier entertainment and sports content to audiences across the country on an unprecedented scale.

The partnership between Reliance and Disney has created one of the largest media and entertainment companies in India, now known as JioStar. This joint venture combines the strengths of both companies, bringing together Reliance's extensive digital infrastructure and market reach with Disney's renowned content library and expertise in media and entertainment.

The formation of JioStar followed the merger of Reliance's Viacom18 and Disney's Star India, marking a significant shift in India's media landscape. The merged entity boasts a massive portfolio, including over 100 TV channels, two major OTT platforms (JioCinema and Hotstar), and two film studios.

Akash Ambani addressed the AGM, noting JioStar's extensive reach and ambition to serve a billion screens across mobile devices, TVs, and connected devices.

JioStar has experienced substantial growth, driven by several factors. The platform secured exclusive TV and digital rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and other major cricket tournaments, attracting a massive audience. The popularity of IPL 2025 significantly boosted JioStar's performance, with the tournament reaching 1.19 billion viewers across television and digital platforms. JioHotstar alone recorded 652 million viewers, a 28% year-on-year increase, with a peak concurrency of 55.2 million viewers during the final match. The IPL 2025 final drew 189 million viewers on TV, setting a new record for IPL broadcast viewership.

JioStar's digital platform, JioHotstar, has witnessed rapid subscriber growth. Within five weeks of its launch, JioHotstar crossed 100 million paid subscribers and has continued this growth trajectory. By April 2025, the platform had surpassed 200 million paid subscribers, establishing itself as one of the leading streaming services worldwide. This growth can be attributed to bundled offerings with telecom partners like Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea, as well as a growing number of direct subscribers.

In the first quarter of FY26, JioStar reported gross revenues of ₹11,222 crore and profit after tax surged to ₹581 crore. JioHotstar averaged over 460 million monthly active users (MAUs) during the quarter and surpassed 1.04 billion downloads on Android.

Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries, highlighted Jio's achievements, including making voice calls free, popularizing mobile video consumption, and laying the foundation for India's digital public infrastructure. He also announced plans to list Jio by the first half of 2026. Ambani emphasized that breakthroughs in clean energy, genomics, and artificial intelligence would drive future growth. He also revealed a deeper partnership with Google for AI.

Bob Iger's comments at the Reliance AGM underscore the strategic importance of the Indian market for Disney and the remarkable success of the JioStar venture. The collaboration between Reliance and Disney has created a media powerhouse that is transforming India's entertainment industry, delivering unparalleled content and experiences to a vast and growing audience.