Press Release

Republic TV to Launch on Hotstar: Partnership to Shape the Future of News for Young India

5 May 2017

Hotstar, India’s leading streaming platform and Republic TV, the nation’s most awaited news venture, today announced a strategic partnership to shape the future of news online. In a first, Hotstar will open up its platform for a third party content provider, marking a big movement in the evolution of the country’s largest streaming service. Hotstar will also introduce News as a distinct category on the platform, adding to its current portfolio of TV Shows, Movies and Sports from around the world.

Republic TV is one of the country’s first major news service to launch in a digital era. With Arnab Goswami as the founder and lead anchor, the service aims to dramatically alter the news landscape in the country.

Announcing the partnership, Uday Shankar, Chairman & CEO, Star India said "Hotstar is the fastest growing digital platform in the world and the leading destination in India for curated, high quality stories. Young India has embraced Hotstar. We believe that young, digitally savvy Indians are deeply interested in understanding their country and the world they live in. We are deeply committed to making sure that we continuously widen Hotstar’s offering, and the launch of Republic TV on Hotstar fills a big gap in our portfolio."


Commenting on the partnership, Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief and Founder, Republic TV said, “Hotstar is a compelling destination for content cutting across genres and age groups. We are confident of breaking the digital barrier and believe this is the first step as news produced in India goes digital and then global. We believe the coming together of these two exciting brands and services will take news to the 90 million plus viewers on Hotstar every month. You can now catch Republic TV on the move and and on demand.”

Show me everything from anytime

Is the Media in trouble? Mumbai Press Club holds discussion on subject

Uday Shankar, Star India CEO said, “Just because the media has become capital-intensive, doesn’t mean that it has to compromise on your integrity. Every business has to have a value system, and the editor needs to be sensitive to that. Journalists need to wake up to the economic reality, and it can’t be denied. On the other hand, those who recognise that are willing to swing to the other extreme and do anything. That also is neither healthy nor sustainable.”

Channel V plans more events

Prem Kamath, channel head, Channel V, adds, "Participation has gone up by almost 100 per cent. We have had 500-600 participants earlier, this year we had about 1000 participants in each zonal."

Star India inks distribution deal with Etisalat to offer 17 channels in UAE

Star Group country head Middle East, Africa & Pakistan Sumantra (Sumo) Dutta said, “This is a landmark initiative in our quest to reach out and make the top watched and favourite Star channels available to the widest set of viewers.”

Imagine more
Id: 7360