iWorld
Hotstar to disrupt online video subscriptions with Hotstar VIP
MUMBAI: Hotstar, India’s leading video streaming platform, launches ‘Hotstar VIP’ – a subscription that offers audiences the best of content at just INR 365 per year. The new subscription plan gives audiences the choice to watch exclusive new content under the Hotstar Specials label, their favourite Star network serials before television at 6 a.m., and the best of live sporting action, including VIVO IPL, ICC Cricket World Cup, Premier League and much more.
Speaking about the launch of ‘Hotstar VIP’, Varun Narang, Chief Product Officer, Hotstar, said, “It is our endeavour at Hotstar to delight customers with content that they resonate with, at the same time give them the power of choice at an affordable cost. Hotstar VIP is aimed at providing users accessibility – be it with the introductory price or the ability to watch exclusive new shows in multiple regional languages. It is a value proposition built with the Indian audience at the heart of it.”
A key feature of the Hotstar VIP service is ‘Hotstar Specials’ – a label that will bring bold & authentic stories made by the biggest storytellers of India to crores of consumers across India. The launch of Hotstar VIP coincides with the release of the first Hotstar Special ‘ Roar of the Lion’, a story on Chennai Super Kings amazing comeback under the leadership of M.S.Dhoni. This show will be followed by Criminal Justice, City of Dreams, Hostages and many more shows under the Hotstar Specials label.
For the first time ever, an OTT platform will allow customers to have a ‘pay by cash’ option. This is being done as a test initially, where users can subscribe to enjoy the Hotstar VIP benefits immediately with cash to be collected from their doorstep in the next 48-72 hours. Adding another layer of convenience for customers, the platform will now allow phone number logins.
Existing subscribers of Hotstar All Annual Sports plan will automatically be upgraded to Hotstar VIP, on a complimentary basis with no additional charge, and can also enjoy access to Hotstar Specials and Star serials before TV. Hotstar Premium subscribers can avail of the benefits under Hotstar VIP along with the latest American shows, blockbuster Hollywood movies and award-winning content from International studios.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
