Kevin Vaz bets on AI, connected TV and micro-dramas as JioStar’s next growth drivers

New Delhi: JioStar will lean on artificial intelligence, connected TV and short-form storytelling formats such as micro-dramas to drive its next phase of growth, CEO–Entertainment Kevin Vaz told global broadcasters and streamers at Asia TV Forum & Market 2025 in Singapore on Tuesday.

Speaking in a session titled “Powering the Next Wave of a Billion Imaginations,” Vaz said the company’s priority is to build content and products that are native to an India that is young, digital and increasingly watching on connected devices.

He framed the strategy around four planks: AI-led content innovation, deeper CTV penetration, experimentation with new formats including micro-dramas and wider international distribution of Indian stories.

Vaz pointed out that India’s 1.4 billion population, with a median age of 29, is one of the world’s youngest and most video-hungry audiences, and that this demographic profile is reshaping how platforms and networks must think about creation and monetisation.

He underlined that India now has about 900 million TV viewers, 900 million internet users, 500 million social media users and an estimated 85 million connected TV base, creating a “two-engine” market where both television and digital are still growing.

On the television side, Vaz said JioStar currently runs over 90 channels in 10 languages and claims around 35% market share, reaching more than 760 million viewers each month. On digital, he cited internal data showing that JioHotstar has crossed one billion downloads on Google Play and engages more than 400 million monthly active users, with JioStar’s combined entertainment and sports offering now present in 99% of India’s connected TV homes.

While he did not give a timeline for specific product launches, Vaz indicated that AI will be used across the chain, from audience and content insights to personalisation and potential new formats, rather than positioned as a standalone buzzword. The focus on micro-dramas and other shorter storytelling formats is aimed at younger, mobile-first viewers who split their time between TV, OTT and social video.

Vaz also stressed that JioStar sees its women-led dramas, youth-skewing non-fiction, kids slate and sports portfolio as pillars it will keep investing in, even as distribution methods evolve. On sports, he reiterated that the network intends to defend its positioning as a one-stop destination for major tournaments on both TV and digital.

Beyond India, the push on global distribution is aimed at taking regional and Hindi content to diaspora and new international audiences. With India producing more than 200,000 hours of TV programming, around 1,800 films and over 400 web series annually, Vaz said the pipeline exists; the challenge is packaging and windowing that content for multiple markets and screens.

He closed by saying the company’s longer-term ambition is to use technology and data to deepen engagement with Indian stories across platforms, rather than only chase headline subscriber numbers or one-off spikes.