A young, digital-first India is powering a global content surge: Kevin Vaz

Kevin Vaz, CEO-Entertainment, JioStar, addressed global industry leaders at the Asia TV Forum & Market 2025 in Singapore, presenting JioStar’s expanding scale and its emergence as one of the world’s most influential content engines. In his session titled “Powering the Next Wave of a Billion Imaginations,” Vaz outlined how India is entering a defining era where entertainment, technology and audience scale are converging to reshape global storytelling. 

Vaz emphasized that India’s 1.4 billion people, with a median age of 29, represent one of the world’s youngest and most dynamic audiences. This demographic advantage, combined with a digital-first mindset and rapidly expanding connectivity, is transforming how stories are created, experienced, consumed and monetised. He noted that India today offers one of the world’s most vibrant content ecosystems globally, with linguistic and cultural diversity that is unmatched.

With 22 official languages, over 1,500 dialects, and a thriving industry producing more than 200,000 hours of television programming, 1,800 films, and over 400 web series each year, the country has evolved into a content powerhouse for both domestic and international markets.

The acceleration in consumption, he said, has been driven by both television and digital platforms. India now has 900 million television viewers, 900 million internet users, 500 million social media users, and more than 85 million connected TV base. This scale is powering a convergence of storytelling, technology, and immersive digital experiences. 
Vaz also outlined JioStar’s role at the centre of this transformation.

On television, JioStar commands a 35% market share with more than 90 channels across 10 languages, reaching over 760 million viewers every month. It leads in almost all local markets and consistently averages five of the top ten shows across genres. On digital, JioHotstar has redefined reach and engagement with more than one billion app downloads on Google Playstore, consistently engaging over 400 million monthly active users. Along with that, JioStar, with its diverse offering of entertainment and sports, now reaches 99% of India’s CTV market.

Speaking about content, Vaz emphasised JioStar’s storytelling strength and its ability to serve audiences across age-groups, delivering content for every member of the family. He highlighted JioStar’s women-led stories that spark conversations in households across India, its high-octane to non-fiction formats that appeal to youth and male audiences, its expanding kids content ecosystem, and its role in bringing the best of global entertainment onto a single platform through JioHotstar.

On the sports front, Vaz described it as one of JioStar’s strongest growth engines, noting that JioStar is the undisputed home of sports in India, delivering the country’s most diverse and comprehensive portfolio of tournaments all in one place.

Looking to the future, Vaz shared JioStar’s strategic priorities across AI-led content innovation, connected TV expansion, newer storytelling formats including micro-dramas and global distribution.

He closed by reaffirming JioStar’s vision for the decade ahead. The ambition, he said, is not only to distribute content but to build a global imagination ecosystem where technology, data, culture, and creativity come together to redefine how stories are told, experienced, and shared.