The JioHotstar domain has finally found its rightful owner. Recent reports indicate that it is now owned by Viacom 18, which is part of Mukesh Ambani's business empire. This development ends the previous ownership claims made by a developer from Delhi and siblings from Dubai. The domain gained attention during the final stages of the merger between Reliance Jio and Disney Hotstar. It was registered on September 20, 2023, and will remain active until September 20, 2026, with the last update noted on December 2, 2024.
The person listed as the contact for the JioHotstar.com domain is Manish Painuly, who works for Viacom18 Media Pvt. Ltd.
How the JioHotstar Story Began
The story started when a developer from Delhi claimed that he had secured the JioHotstar.com domain in anticipation of the merger between Reliance's JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. The developer even wrote to Reliance Industries, suggesting they fund his education in exchange for the domain. Later on, the domain transferred to siblings Jainam and Jivika from Dubai, who offered to give it to “Team Reliance” for free. They stated on their website that, given all the discussions about the merger, it would be best for Reliance to have the domain at no cost, complete with all the necessary paperwork.
Despite receiving many offers from buyers, the siblings insisted that they were not selling the domain as it was meant to support the developer and was part of their commitment to service. Meanwhile, a new website called "Jiostar.com" has emerged with a "coming soon" teaser.
The Most Expensive Domain Sale
While we don't know how much Reliance paid for the JioHotstar domain, it is notable that the most expensive domain name ever sold was Voice.com, which was sold for an astonishing $30 million (about Rs 254 crore). This sale occurred in May 2019 and was facilitated by GoDaddy. The new owner used this domain to launch a blockchain-based social media platform called Voice.
