Indian OTT platforms expand overseas to tap diaspora audiences

Between September and October, India’s homegrown streaming service JioHotstar also launched in several overseas markets, entering the UK, Canada and Singapore followed by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The service is also preparing to launch in Nepal

Mumbai: On October 15, Tiger TV, a dedicated Punjabi and Hindi entertainment destination was launched on the Lionsgate Play streaming app. Under founder-led ownership since 2025, the OTT platform Lionsgate Play offers Hollywood content to millions of viewers across several Asian markets. With Tiger TV, it plans to invest ₹500 crore in Punjabi and Hindi content IPs over the next three years. Tiger TV will be in the Lionsgate Play app across Asia, and as a standalone app in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, a release from the company said.

Indian OTT platforms expand overseas to tap diaspora audiences.

Between September and October, India’s homegrown streaming service JioHotstar also launched in several overseas markets, entering the UK, Canada and Singapore followed by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The service is also preparing to launch in Nepal.

Indian OTT’s presence overseas is not new though JioHotstar’s latest push to expand overseas is notable. Early on, Bengali streaming platform Hoichoi entered Bangladesh and then built an international audience in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. SonyLIV entered select countries in the Africa and Caribbean region in 2023.

In October, JioHotstar partnered with Abu Dhabi-headquartered Starzplay to take its entertainment content to audiences across MENA. Starzplay, operational in the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan, offers originals, Hollywood content, Arabic series, Turkish dramas and live sports to 2.3 million subscribers.

Though content from its portfolio was available in the region, they wanted to address the “fragmented” experience for audiences as programmes were either on different services, arriving at different times or not available altogether, Malhotra said. “What changes now is that audiences are getting a much wider and more structured JioHotstar experience through a dedicated streaming destination within Starzplay,” Malhotra said. JioHotstar will soon launch in Nepal through DGO, the country’s first government-licensed OTT platform.

A recent report by Ormax Media found that users of India’s streaming services grew by 15% while paid subscribers grew 16% over the past year. “However, India’s growth or its slowdown is not connected to overseas expansion of OTT platforms,” said Shailesh Kapoor, founder and CEO, Ormax Media. “Broadcasters like JioStar, Sony and Zee know from their overseas television distribution learnings that there is a ready audience for Indian content outside India. And streaming is the new-age extension of the same principle that linear TV has followed for almost three decades,” Kapoor said. “Also, because of the huge Indian diaspora and higher average revenue per user, OTT platforms always look at overseas audiences as a lucrative segment,” he said.

For starters, size is what makes Indian diaspora viewers a big draw for Indian OTT apps. “The global South Asian diaspora represents an addressable audience of approximately 60 million people. Neighbouring markets including Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka add a combined population of more than 225 million,” Amit Malhotra said. MENA alone has approximately 19 million South Asians across its markets, with a significant concentration in the Gulf countries, he noted. “It is therefore one of the most important international audiences we can serve,” Malhotra said.

Lionsgate Play’s Tiger TV, meanwhile, is also targeting the 7.5 million plus Punjabi and Hindi-speaking households across key diaspora markets.

“International markets can make very good business sense, provided you approach them with the right economics,” said Soumya Mukherjee, chief operating officer, Hoichoi. “Subscription pricing is generally higher in many international markets than in India. That creates the potential for higher revenue per subscriber,” he said. For Hoichoi, “our international audience has become a meaningful part of the business, contributing around 40% of our revenue,” Mukherjee said.

Overseas expansion isn’t just a way to add subscribers. It diversifies the revenue base and expands the addressable market for the IPs that platforms create, Mukherjee said.

Amit Malhotra said though the Indian diaspora is a strong base, JioHotstar’s expansion benefits anyone who enjoys Indian stories, stars and entertainment. “Indian stories are increasingly travelling beyond language and culture. Subtitles, dubbing and better discovery are helping viewers engage with content they may not have considered earlier,” he said.

JioStar produces approximately 30,000 hours of content every year across its television networks and streaming service JioHotstar in India, spanning 11 languages. “That gives us the depth to serve very different audiences. Over time, we are also open to developing original content for individual markets where we see a strong consumer opportunity. Technology will be equally important. For the first time, audiences in the UK, Canada and Singapore can vote live across editions of Bigg Boss,” he said.