Sagar Kadam joins JioStar as senior director – ecosystem partnerships

MUMBAI: Sagar Kadam just switched teams in the OTT big leagues because when you’re this good at partnerships, even the streaming giants line up to sign you. Sagar Kadam has joined JioStar as senior director for ecosystem & subscription partnerships for the digital venture (JioHotstar), effective January 2026. In his new role in Mumbai, he will focus on building and scaling subscription revenue, ecosystem alliances, and strategic partnerships across telcos, banks, ISPs, connected devices, e-commerce, fintech, gifting, rewards, loyalty channels, and more.

Kadam brings deep experience in digital growth and monetisation. He most recently served as associate vice president for partnerships, growth and monetization at Sony Pictures Networks India (SonyLiv) from October 2021 to January 2026, where he drove subscription revenue through partnerships and business development. Before that, he was associate director for partnerships, growth and monetization at Zee5 (April 2019–October 2021).

His earlier career includes nearly nine years at Shemaroo Entertainment (2010–2019) in various business development roles, a stint at I-Free (2008–2010) as manager for content & alliances, and an early position at Enable Mobile Technologies (2007–2008).

Kadam holds an MBA in Marketing from ITM Group of Institutions (2011–2013).

His move to JioStar comes as the merged entity ramps up its push in India’s booming streaming market, where ecosystem partnerships and subscription strategies are key to capturing and retaining users. For someone who’s spent years turning alliances into revenue engines, this role at JioHotstar feels like the perfect next play pairing his partnership playbook with one of the country’s biggest digital platforms. Whether it’s striking telco deals or unlocking fintech tie-ups, Kadam’s arrival signals JioStar is gearing up to make every connection count.