Singapore: Kevin Vaz, CEO – Entertainment at JioStar, addressed global media and entertainment leaders at the Asia TV Forum & Market 2025 in Singapore, showcasing JioStar’s rapid growth trajectory and its position as one of the world’s most influential content organisations. Speaking during a keynote titled “Powering the Next Wave of a Billion Imaginations,” Vaz highlighted how India is entering a pivotal moment where entertainment, technology, and scale are intersecting to shape the future of global storytelling.
Vaz underscored that India’s 1.4 billion population—with a median age of just 29—represents one of the world’s youngest and most digitally active content audiences. With expanding connectivity and a growing digital-first mindset, the country is redefining how stories are created, consumed, engaged with, and monetised. He added that India’s linguistic and cultural richness continues to fuel demand and creativity, with 22 official languages, over 1,500 dialects, and a thriving entertainment industry that produces more than 200,000 hours of television content, 1,800 films, and over 400 web series annually.
The content boom, he noted, has been accelerated by both television and digital ecosystems. India now has 900 million television viewers, 900 million internet users, 500 million social media users, and a connected TV base exceeding 85 million viewers—signalling a significant shift toward platform convergence driven by scale and immersion.
Vaz also outlined JioStar’s leadership in driving this evolution. On television, JioStar holds a 35% market share with over 90 channels across 10 languages, reaching more than 760 million viewers monthly and leading in most regional markets. Its programming strength is reflected in consistently securing five of the top ten shows across key genres. In digital, JioHotstar continues to reshape distribution and engagement, with more than one billion app installations and over 400 million monthly active users. Coupled with its sports and entertainment offerings, JioStar now reaches 99% of India’s connected TV audience.
Speaking about content strategy, Vaz reinforced JioStar’s focus on serving audiences across age groups and interests—whether through women-led narratives driving cultural conversations, youth-focused reality and non-fiction formats, expanding kids’ programming, or global entertainment streaming through JioHotstar. He also highlighted sports as a defining engine of growth, calling JioStar the undisputed home of sports in India with one of the largest live tournament portfolios under one network.
Looking ahead, Vaz outlined JioStar’s priorities in AI-driven content creation, connected TV expansion, micro-format innovation including short-form dramas, and global IP distribution. He closed by reaffirming JioStar’s ambition for the decade ahead—not merely to deliver content, but to build a “global imagination ecosystem” where creativity, data, culture, and technology reshape how stories are told and experienced.
