Photo Credit:Amarujala
The domain jiohotstar.com now belongs to two kids from Dubai. Previously, this domain was owned by an app developer from Delhi, who had offered to sell it to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries.
However, it has now been revealed on
jiohotstar.com that siblings Zainam and Jeevika, living in Dubai, UAE, have
purchased this domain to help a young software developer from Delhi.
What’s the whole story?
Recently, a
post was made on jiohotstar.com under the name 'Dreamer,' who introduced
themselves as an app developer from Delhi. The developer addressed a letter to
a Reliance Industries executive, stating, “I’m an app developer based in Delhi,
currently focused on building my startup.
At the
beginning of 2023, while scrolling through social media, I came across news
that Disney+ Hotstar was losing active users after losing the streaming rights
to the IPL, and There was news that Disney was looking into either selling or
merging Hotstar with an Indian competitor.
After reading
this, I remembered that there was talk of a merger between Sony and Zee, so
Reliance-owned Viacom 18 was the only big company likely to buy Disney+
Hotstar.
This reminded
me of when Jio bought the music streaming service Saavn and rebranded it to
JioSaavn, changing the domain from Saavn.com to JioSaavn.com.
I thought they
might name the new domain Jiohotstar.com, so I checked, and it was available. I
was excited, thinking if a merger happens, I could fund my studies at
Cambridge."
The app
developer continued: "Cambridge University has a full degree program in
entrepreneurship, which was my dream to pursue, but I couldn’t afford it. When
I saw that the domain was available, I felt everything was aligning. I thought the new domain might be called
Jiohotstar.com, so I checked, and it was available.
I felt excited, thinking that if a merger occurred, it could help me finance my studies at Cambridge." "My goal in purchasing this domain was straightforward—if the merger went through, it might make my dream of studying at Cambridge possible."The post appealed to Reliance Industries to purchase the domain.
The app
developer said, "Company didn’t agree." An update was posted on
October 24, stating that a Reliance executive had contacted him, and the
developer requested the company cover his tuition fee for an EMBA program,
which was declined. It also stated that the company would take legal action on
this matter, though the developer still hoped the company would consider his
request.
In an update, the developer
added, "I don’t have the resources to challenge Reliance. I didn’t think I
was infringing on any trademarks when I purchased it in 2023 since JioHotstar
wasn’t established at the time."
Two YouTuber kids from Dubai purchased the domain.
Now, there is no post from the app developer on jiohotstar.com; instead, there is a message from Dubai’s Zainam and Jeevika, explaining they bought the domain to support the Delhi-based software developer. They also mentioned they have kept the option of selling the domain open for the future.
It was stated that Zainam and Jeevika run a YouTube channel called JJ Funtime, where they make videos on science topics. The JJ Funtime YouTube channel was launched in 2017, initially focusing on toy unboxing videos, then sharing moments of the siblings playing, and later featuring science videos.
Their next step is
launching a podcast, with some episodes already recorded with prominent
personalities, which will go live soon.