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Making Sparks fly
Financial Express Lucknow
|March 31, 2025
Can JioHotstar take on YouTube and Instagram?
OTT STREAMING SERVICE JioHotstar unveiled its newly launched creator-led offering Sparks to take on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. JioHotstar has roped in popular digital creators such as Uorfi Javed, Tanmay Bhat, Elvish Yadav, and Ranveer Brar and has announced a content slate of 20 exclusive originals across 10 genres.
Last week, JioHotstar announced that it had crossed 100 million paid subscribers, placing it well ahead of Amazon Prime Video at 20 million and Netflix at 12 million. The platform is looking to replicate its OTT success with Sparks by taking on offerings like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
That is a tall order considering Instagram has a user base of 363 million in India, while YouTube has its largest audience in India at 491 million. Snapchat is decidedly less popular at 202 million.
That said, given Jio's penchant for disruption, experts say few other players in the country can give these tech giants a run for their money.
This story is from the March 31, 2025 edition of Financial Express Lucknow.
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