JioStar gets I&B nod to launch eight sports channels under Star Sports 2
The launch of additional sports brands in key language markets is aimed at bolstering JioStar's offerings to advertisers, especially small and medium businesses (SMBs)
New Delhi: Weeks ahead of the IPL 2025 season, JioStar secured licenses from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Friday to launch eight new sports channels under Star Sports 2.
BestMediaInfo.com reported last month on JioStar’s plans to introduce eight new sports channels for various markets.
Of these eight channels, five Sports18 channels, which joined JioStar following the merger of media businesses between Reliance Industries and Disney Star India, will be rebranded as Star Sports 2 channels in various markets.
The launch of additional sports brands in key language markets is aimed at bolstering JioStar's offerings to advertisers, especially small and medium businesses (SMBs), sources told BestMediaInfo.com.
List of the new Star Sports 2 channels:
Sr. No.
Channel
Earlier name
1
Star Sports 2 Hindi HD
Sports18 1 HD
2
Star Sports 2 Hindi
Sports18 1
3
Star Sports 2 Kannada
Star Sports First
4
Star Sports 2 Tamil HD
Star Life HD
5
Star Sports 2 Tamil
Sports18 3
6
Star Sports 2 Telugu HD
Star Life
7
Star Sports 2 Telugu
Sports18 2)
8
Star Sports Khel
Sports18 Khel
Three months after the mega-merger, JioStar also announced last month that it would shut down nine of its existing channels from March 15, 2025.
While the broadcaster shut down some channels in compliance with the CCI order, the SD and HD channels of Comedy Central, Vh1, and MTV Beats will go off-air due to market conditions. The other three channels going off-air are Bindass, Star Odia and Star Kiran HD.