JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance Industries’ Viacom18 and Disney’s India unit, is making headlines in the Indian media and entertainment space. The platform JioStar plan a massive Rs 84,000 crore ($10 billion) invest in content creation over the next three years, highlighting its long-term commitment to building India-centric entertainment. Uday Shankar, the vice chairman of JioStar, shared this ambitious roadmap at the World Audio Visual & Entertainment Summit (WAVES) 2025. With over Rs 25,000 crore spent in FY24, Rs 30,000 crore in FY25, and an estimated Rs 33,000 crore in FY26, JioStar’s content development plan is shaping up to be one of the most aggressive in global media.
The JioStar content invest plan aims to serve India’s diverse audience by creating content rooted in local culture. This includes developing regional narratives, investing in original formats, and reaching underserved tier-II, III, and IV cities. Shankar stressed the importance of moving away from dependency on international formats, focusing instead on nurturing India’s homegrown storytelling ecosystem. He also critiqued the stagnation in the monetisation models within the media industry and expressed optimism about tapping into decentralised economic growth. According to Shankar, expanding India’s advertising ecosystem by involving emerging local brands could double the market in the next five years. This report dives deep into the structure, strategies, and vision behind JioStar’s monumental move and its implications for the Indian entertainment and tech startup landscape.
1. JioStar Content Invest Plan: Inside the Media Megaproject
1.1 The Vision Behind the JioStar Content Invest Plan
JioStar, a media powerhouse, combines Reliance’s Viacom18 with Disney’s India content arm. Founded to revolutionise India’s entertainment ecosystem, the company blends global storytelling excellence with strong domestic roots. The primary goal behind the JioStar content invest plan is to create India-first content. By doing this, the platform seeks to position itself not just as a streaming competitor but as the heartbeat of India’s evolving digital culture.
1.2 How JioStar Makes Money: The Revenue Model
JioStar operates through a dual monetisation strategy: advertising and subscriptions. With JioCinema as its flagship OTT platform, the company monetises content by drawing in mass audiences through free offerings and converting high-value viewers into paid subscribers. Additionally, it offers exclusive rights for sports, entertainment shows, and regional content, opening multiple revenue streams.
1.3 Funding and Founders Driving This Vision
The joint venture between Reliance and Disney is deeply capitalised. Reliance brings in Viacom18’s local knowledge, distribution strength, and access to massive telecom reach via Jio. Disney contributes with its global production quality, IPs, and industry expertise. Uday Shankar, former Disney APAC President and current vice chairman of JioStar, provides strong leadership and strategic direction.
2. Investment Milestones and Content Strategy
2.1 Scale of Investment: Breaking Down the Numbers
The total Rs 84,000 crore investment is divided across three years. In FY24, JioStar spent Rs 25,000 crore. This rose to Rs 30,000 crore in FY25 and is projected to reach Rs 33,000 crore in FY26. This robust pipeline cements JioStar’s commitment to long-term, high-quality content development.
2.2 Why Localised Content Matters
Shankar has emphasised the need to build content tailored to Indian audiences. The JioStar content invest plan involves developing shows in various Indian languages and focusing on storytelling that resonates with cultural contexts. Unlike Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which rely heavily on western storytelling tropes, JioStar’s roadmap involves deeply Indian narratives.
2.3 Redefining India’s Storytelling Ecosystem
JioStar isn’t just about producing shows. It’s building an entire ecosystem. From training writers and investing in production studios to creating new digital-first formats, the company aims to uplift the entire content creation value chain.
3. India’s Media Industry Landscape and JioStar’s Disruption
3.1 Industry Size and Market Share
According to Media Partners Asia, the Indian media industry stands at $30 billion. That’s significantly lower than the U.S. ($200 billion) and China ($75 billion). However, this also reflects the vast untapped potential in India, which JioStar aims to capture.
3.2 Tier-II to Tier-IV Cities: Unlocking New Markets
Uday Shankar highlighted that India’s media growth has been skewed toward urban centres. By expanding to Tier-II, III, and IV cities, JioStar plans to unlock advertising potential in these under-monetised regions. This could also serve as a growth hack for emerging Indian brands trying to scale.
3.3 Advertising Reinvented: A New Model for Value Creation
Shankar pointed out that current monetisation models, mostly based on subscriptions and traditional ads, have stagnated. By tapping into new-age SMEs and regional businesses, JioStar could double India’s advertising market in five years.
4. Global vs. Indian Platforms: The Differentiating Factor
4.1 The India-First Approach
Global OTT players often adapt western content for Indian viewers. However, JioStar’s model reverses that. Its India-first approach focuses on original narratives, Indian creators, and content that fits into local traditions. The JioStar content invest plan aims to celebrate Indian stories and amplify their global appeal.
4.2 Standing Against International Giants
While companies like Netflix and Tencent enjoy massive valuations due to scalable models and monetisation, Indian platforms have lagged. JioStar’s long-term content strategy may help bridge this gap by creating consistent, local content with global quality.
5. Future Roadmap and Ecosystem Impact
5.1 Building the Content Infrastructure
Beyond content itself, JioStar plans to build back-end systems like editing suites, content management tools, and digital studios. These assets will empower new creators and streamline production workflows.
5.2 Long-Term Employment and Creative Economy Boost
The Rs 84,000 crore injection will fuel job creation across writing, direction, editing, marketing, and production. This will significantly impact India’s creative economy.
6. Learnings for Startups and Entrepreneurs
6.1 Think Long-Term, Act Local
JioStar’s approach of long-term planning and India-first execution shows how localisation can outperform global formats.
6.2 Innovate in Monetisation
The stagnation in monetisation models is a lesson for startups to think beyond traditional revenue channels.
6.3 Ecosystem Over Product
Building an entire storytelling ecosystem rather than just one OTT platform is the kind of visionary thinking entrepreneurs can adopt.
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When it comes to understanding massive investments like the JioStar content invest plan and decoding how such moves shift the tech and startup ecosystem in India, The Startups News provides unmatched insights. As a go-to platform for entrepreneurs, we cover daily tech news, business funding updates, and startup innovation stories that matter to real-world business builders. From disruptive content investments to platform monetisation lessons, our reporting helps decode the startup economy with clarity and relevance.
