Delhi Techies Exclusive Pitch for University Funding – Offers to Sell JioHotstar Domain to Streaming Giants

A Delhi-based app developer has taken a unique route to fund his goal of studying at Cambridge University – offering to sell the domain name of the JioHotstar website to Reliance Industries (RIL) or Viacom18 for a fee.

Writing on the simply designed website www.jiohotstar.com, the technician addressed RIL executives who would likely seek to own the domain name as the company’s deal with streaming giant Disney Hotstar+ was in the works.

In August 2024, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the proposed merger between Disney Star and RIL’s Viacom18, paving the way for the biggest deal in the media sector and entertainment of India, creating a $8.5- billion entertainment network.

“Dear Reliance Industries Executive, I am an app developer based in Delhi, currently working on my startup. In early 2023, while scrolling through social media, I came across a news story stating that Disney+ Hotstar was losing daily active users after losing the IPL streaming license, and Disney is considering selling or merging Hotstar with an Indian competitor,” wrote the technical.

Funding for Cambridge study

The person added that going by the previous rebrand of Jio’s acquisition of music app Saavn to JioSaavn, the conglomerate would likely follow the same process with Hotstar and hence plans to capitalize on this.

“This led me to hypothesize that since Sony and Zee were pursuing their own merger, Viacom 18 (owned by Reliance) is the only major player with enough resources to acquire Disney+ Hotstar. This reminded me of when Jio acquired music streaming service Saavn, they renamed it to JioSaavn and changed the domain from Saavn.com to JioSaavn.com. I thought, “If they acquire Hotstar, they can rename it JioHotstar.com.” I checked the domain and it was available. I was excited as I felt that if this happened it could fund my goal of studying at Cambridge,” he added.

Why Cambridge?

Explaining his aim to study at Cambridge, the app developer in his online letter said he worked on a project selected by the university’s Accelerate program in 2021. He added that as a Level II higher education student, exposure to the program made he wants to study entrepreneurship at the educational institution.

“In 2021, I was working on a project that was selected for the Cambridge University Accelerate programme. It was a transformative experience for me. I couldn’t crack IIT and always wanted to learn from the best, coming from a Tier-II college, being selected for this program was an incredibly valuable and practical experience. The startup program taught me a lot of valuable lessons and provided free information about the ins and outs of startups, which was amazing. However, its scope was limited – after all, it was just a startup program,” he said.

“Cambridge also offers a full degree program in entrepreneurship, which I always dreamed of pursuing but could never afford. It’s Cambridge, very expensive. When I saw this domain become available, I felt like things could fall into place. My intention to buy this domain was simple: if this merger happens, maybe I will be able to fulfill my dream of studying at Cambridge”, he added.

Agreement at the table

The quick-thinking techie had a deal for the companies, suggesting, “Now that the merger has actually happened and news sources are confirming that there will be only one post-merger website (JioCinema or Hotstar.com), I believe in JioHotstar. com would be a very suitable brand for the merged entity. It maintains the brand value of both brands and provides a rational transition for current users of both sites.”

He added that this domain sale would be life-changing for him, stating, “To purchase this domain, please contact [email protected] from your company email address with an official letter attached, declaring your authorization to purchase on behalf of Reliance Industries/Viacom18. For a multi-billion dollar company like Reliance, this will be a minor expense, but for me, selling this domain would be a real life changer. Sincerely, a dreamer.”

There has been no media response from Jio or Hotstar on this matter yet.