JioHotstar OTT growth is rapidly rewriting the rules of India's streaming and TV market, and the latest FY26 numbers underline how dramatic that shift has become.
JioHotstar, housed under Reliance Industries' JioStar media venture with Disney and Bodhi Tree Systems, reported operating revenue of Rs 31,048 crore in FY26, with EBITDA of Rs 4,885 crore and net profit of Rs 3,210 crore.
That is a huge jump from FY25, when the joint venture posted revenue of around Rs 10,006 crore and net profit of Rs 229 crore after the merger of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar.
In the fourth quarter of FY26 alone, JioStar reported revenue from operations of Rs 8,372 crore and profit after tax of Rs 419 crore, underscoring steady momentum rather than a one-off spike.
Industry analysts point out that such profitability is unusual in the OTT space, where many global rivals still burn cash to chase scale.
A core engine of JioHotstar OTT growth has been its expanding digital reach, with the platform recording about 500 million monthly active users in Q4 FY26.
By comparison, estimates put Netflix's India base at roughly 10-12 million paid users and Amazon Prime Video around 20 million, much of it bundled with Prime memberships.
JioStar has also held on to its traditional television muscle, capturing a 34.2% share of entertainment viewership and reaching over 810 million viewers across more than 100 channels.
This twin strength in OTT and broadcast allows Reliance and its partners to offer advertisers and subscribers a tightly integrated media ecosystem.
Beyond raw numbers, JioHotstar OTT growth is being reinforced by technology bets, including AI-driven content discovery tools developed with OpenAI and the integration of ChatGPT-powered search inside the streaming app.
These systems, combined with in-app commerce during live sports and entertainment, are designed to keep users watching longer while nudging them toward premium content and purchases.
For Reliance, the trajectory looks familiar: push aggressively on pricing and scale, then lean into monetisation once dominance is in sight, much like the earlier disruption in telecom.
If JioHotstar can sustain this pace, its OTT growth will not just pressure Netflix and Prime in India but could force a broader rethink of global streaming strategies in high-growth markets.