Reliance-Disney merger: JioStar website goes live amid JioHotstar domain saga

Amid the ongoing JioHotstar domain name saga, a new website called Jiostar has gone live.

The website ‘jiostar.com’ says coming soon and does not mention anything else. It is speculated to be the OTT platform after the merger of Reliance and Hotstar. However, there is no official confirmation.

This development came a day after the JioHotstar domain owners, Jainam and Jivika Jain, offered it to Reliance. The siblings had offered the domain name to Reliance for free.

“With all the discussions happening, we now think it might be best for Team Reliance to have this domain, if they want it. We are happy to give jiohotstar.com to them for free, with all the proper paperwork. To be clear, this is entirely our choice. No one from Reliance or any legal group has contacted us or pressured us in any way. We made this decision on our own, without any pressure from friends, family, or anyone else,” Jainam and Jivika said in a statement.

Dubai-based siblings had purchased the domain from a Delhi-based app developer, reportedly to help him with his education.

Earlier, the Delhi-based app developer offered the domain name to either Reliance Industries or Viacom18 for a fee to fund his education at Cambridge University.

Reliance-Disney merger
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) gave a nod to the merger between Disney Star and Reliance Industries in August. This merger is reportedly the biggest deal, worth $8.5 billion, in India’s media and entertainment industry.

The merger will be completed in the third quarter of financial year 2024-25, Reliance Industries said in its quarterly earnings for Q2FY25.

On October 22, the CCI released a 48-page detailed order approving the merger of assets of Reliance Industries and Disney Star. The order mentioned various conditions such as the divestment of seven TV channels.

Reliance will have a 60 per cent stake in the merger— 16 per cent directly and 47 per cent through its Viacom18 Media business, which it largely owns, whereas Disney will own 37 per cent. LiveMint