Kevin Vaz charts JioStar’s post‑merger rise and AI‑driven future at APOS 2026
At APOS 2026, Kevin Vaz, CEO of Entertainment at JioStar, outlined the company’s rapid transformation since the merger that brought JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar together under one platform. He described the past 18 months as “one of the most exciting transformation journeys of my career,” noting the scale and complexity of integrating two major organisations with distinct technologies, content pipelines and cultures.
Vaz highlighted that the merger was completed in November 2024, and within just three months the company unified both streaming services into JioHotstar, a process he said “usually takes years.” The platform now reaches more than 500 million monthly active users, has crossed a billion app downloads and manages around 260 million paid subscriptions. But he stressed that scale is no longer defined by reach alone, saying: “Scale is defined as what is the impact you have on people’s lives after you reach them.”
He positioned JioStar as a technology‑driven entertainment company, explaining that the traditional divide between content and tech has disappeared. “The distinction behind looking at JioStar as a technology or a content company… those lines have blurred,” he said, adding that innovation, including AI‑led personalisation, discoverability and short‑form formats — is now central to the business.
Vaz also spoke about the growing convergence of entertainment and commerce, calling it “the biggest inflection point” for the industry. He pointed to examples where viewers can shop what they see on screen or order food while watching live sport, and highlighted a recent smartphone partnership around the film ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’, which delivered “phenomenal traction” and strong conversion rates.
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He discussed the success of JioStar’s micro‑drama initiative, Tadka, launched in April, which has already drawn nearly 100 million viewers. Vaz said the format fits naturally into India’s multi‑screen habits, where consumers shift seamlessly between long‑form viewing, vertical video and connected TV. “From a consumer point of view, he comes to get entertained… he doesn’t make that distinction,” he said.
Looking ahead, Vaz said entertainment will continue moving from passive viewing to active participation, with audiences interacting, voting, gaming and shopping while watching. “People will come and consume content, they will interact… and at the same time, they’ll look at how they can shop the same look,” he said, positioning JioStar’s strategy around building an integrated ecosystem that connects all these behaviours across screens.
