JioStar to Launch Regional Star Sports Channels in Multi-Language Expansion
JioStar, jointly owned by Reliance Industries, Disney, and Bodhi Tree, is geared up for massive expansion and new branding of its sports broadcast network prior to Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. As The Economic Times puts it, the company is setting up several regional sports channels both in Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD).
As part of this move, the Sports18 brand will be discontinued, with all five existing Sports18 channels being rebranded under the Star Sports name, solidifying its leadership in Indian sports broadcasting. Sports18 1 will be renamed Star Sports 2 Hindi, Sports18 2 will be rebranded as Star Sports 2 Telugu, and Sports18 3 will become Star Sports 2 Tamil. Sports18 Khel will also be rebranded as Star Sports Khel, providing a range of sports content.
For servicing the high-end viewers, the HD versions of the channels — Star Sports 2 Hindi HD, Star Sports 2 Telugu HD, and Star Sports 2 Tamil HD — will be launched on March 15, 2025. This addition will result in JioStar’s sport offering 24 channels in multiple languages.
Simultaneously, JioStar is augmenting its free-to-air (FTA) visibility by moving Colors Rishtey and Star Utsav to FTA platforms, taking its FTA channel count to six. But nine channels, such as Comedy Central, Vh1, MTV Beats, Bindass, Colors Odia, and Star Kiran HD, will be dropped.
After restructuring the company, JioStar will operate 130 pay and FTA channels in SD and HD formats, as well as 83 broadcaster packs, including six channels in an FTA pack.
