Engagement & Retention project | JioStar

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Engagement & Retention project | JioStar

Understand Your Product

JioStar is India’s newly formed media powerhouse, established in November 2024 through the merger of Viacom18 and Disney Star (formerly Star India), as a result of an $8.5 billion joint venture between Reliance Industries, Viacom18, and Disney India

About the Company:

JioHotstar, owned by JioStar India Private Limited (formerly Star India), is one of India’s premier OTT platforms. It provides access to a rich collection of over 100,000 hours of TV shows and movies across ten languages, and broadcasts major global sporting events

Exclusive & Popular Content

Extensive Catalog
Includes top-rated Indian TV series, regional films, Bollywood blockbusters, and international favorites sourced from global studios
Original Programming
Invests in acclaimed originals like Special Ops, Aarya, and The Night Manager, designed to resonate with Indian audiences
Premium Sports Coverage
Offers live sporting action in ultra-HD with features such as real-time analytics and multi-angle viewing. Events include IPL, ICC cricket, the Premier League, Wimbledon, and more

Core Value Proposition

JioStar combines premium content, massive distribution, deep regional access, sports dominance

Differentiators from competitors

a. Regional + Global Content

Combines Star India's TV dominance (Star Plus, Star Gold, regional channels
Disney’s global IP (Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, Hotstar Specials) with Reliance’s access to mass-market Bollywood, sports, and originals.

b. Pan-India & Global Reach

Regional channels, multilingual OTT, and metro audiences.
Ability to license and localize global IP, and distribute Indian IP globally.

c. Jio + Hotstar bundling

Leverages Jio’s telecom subscriber base for OTT push.
Pre-installed OTT and affordable data packs

d. IPL Rights Consolidation

JioCinema holds digital IPL rights; Star has TV rights
Enables cross-device campaigns for sponsors

e. Subscription and Freemium Optimization

Premium content behind paywall (Hotstar, Disney+), mass content freemium

f. Tech-Led Personalization

Personalization, ad targeting, and recommendations.
Leverages cross-device login data across TV, mobile, and fiber.

The new Home page of JioHotstar

Understanding Natural frequency

User Type	Definition & Behavior	Natural Frequency of Usage	Goal Type	Goal Priority (Primary/Secondary)	JTBD (Job-To-Be-Done)	Triggers	Price Sensitivity (Premium User or Free user
Casual User	User who prefers watching occasional sports matches. he/she onlt	1-3 times a month	✅ Personal ✅ Social ✅ Financial	Primary: Access to favorite sports teams live and watch sports with family members Secondary: Free access to content	-Find easy access to favorite sports and movies -Avoid the costs of owning a TV. Easy accessibility through Jio network	Live match season Boring day with no plans outside	Free user. (Watches Ads d)
Core User	Regular commuter who integrates Rapido into their daily routine.	1-2 times a week (every weekend)	✅ Functional ✅ Financial	Primary: Access to large and high quality content library Secondary: Tiered-based subscription saving money	Access to favoritee shows and movies and personalized - Minimize costs of owning DVD and cancellation available anytime. Free access to some of the content in case of subscription cancellation	Weekend binge watch sessions Sports and lives shows	Super Subscription Moderate Core users in small town -
Power User	Heavy user, relies on Rapido as their primary mode of transport.	5-7 times a week	✅ Functional ✅ Personal ✅ Social	Primary: Access to high quality content and entertainment Secondary: 4 people can access one account.	Can watch movies, shows and TV channels (news etc) at home Personalized recommendations and 4 devices can access account	After work binge sessions Latest shows, episodes, movies uploaded	Premium Subscriber

Which engagement model works best for JioHotstar?

Depth: Unlike productivity or learning apps, spending more time in one sitting doesn’t always translate to better platform value. A user watching for 3 hours on one day and coming back 6 days later is less valuable than someone who checks in 4 days for 2 hours

Primary

Breadth ✅: The more genres, content formats (TV shows, Hotstar Specials, Sports, Movies), and features a user engages with, the more value they derive from the platform. It builds habit, expands their content discovery, and increases chances of retention

Secondary

Frequency ✅: More sessions per week help strengthen habits. If a user returns every evening to watch a sitcom, their perceived value of the platform increases. Frequent logins also improve personalization, recommendation accuracy, and upsell potential

Customer Segmentation

build your ICP's- by now you know how to do that in a tabular format as done in earlier projects and segment the users, think about why you are segmenting and what is the goal of your product and segmentation

ICP and Customer Segmentation

1. Cricket Enthusiast
This segment is drawn to JioHotstar primarily for its sports content, especially live cricket. Typically younger and working professionals, they are casual users who value convenience, multi-device access, and highlights/replays. However, they are deterred by excessive ads and may hesitate to upgrade to premium unless incentivized with exclusive sports perks.

2. Family Person
Usually older and married, this segment watches content alongside their family and values ease of use across devices. They prefer light-hearted genres, news, and shows suitable for all age groups. They are often already premium subscribers, indicating a higher willingness to pay for ad-free, family-friendly content. Their feedback reflects a need for better content curation and simpler discovery.

3. Weekend Binge Watcher
This ICP comprises young professionals who treat OTT as a weekend escape. Their behavior shows a mix of action, comedy, and fiction consumption, with usage peaking during weekends or off-hours. They are aware of features like offline downloads and multi-device access but may be selective about upgrading unless the value is obvious.

4. The Real Binge Watcher
The most digitally engaged ICP, this segment comprises young individuals (often students or early-career professionals) who binge-watch frequently and deeply. They're highly influenced by trending content and value discovery but are often turned off by too many ads and prefer to explore on their own rather than depend on recommendations.

5. Movie Enthusiast & Pop Culture Nerd
This is a culturally savvy, urban audience segment that actively seeks quality content - both Indian and international. They are often married, professionally well-placed, and open to spending on premium experiences. What keeps them hooked are smart features like “because you watched…” and access to niche titles. However, they expect high content quality and are vocal when disappointed.

Customer Segmentation

Usage	Criteria	Characteristics
Casual	1-3 times a month Only watches IPL and sports Free user Jio user, can actively access content library with ads	They are either students or early professionals. Movies and shows might not excite them. They might watch 1-2 movies based on reviews
Core	2-4 times a week Super user or premium subscriber - Tier 1 Free user - price-sensitive tier 2 user Movie and show enthusiast	They are either early to mid professionals living in tier-1 or tier 2 cities. Since JioHotstar targets a larger base from tier 2 with access to TV channels. They might tune in to their favourite shows during weekends
Power	4-5 times a week or everyday user. Most likely a premium subscriber. Some might opt for free subscription with ads (Price sensitive tier 2 city residents)	Power users are mostly likely subscribers in Tier1 cities. They might tune in to their sitcoms after a hectic day at work. Tier 2 and Tier 3 - They might watch a lot of TV channels on Hotstar

Product hook and engagement campaigns

Answer the list of questions in the project guide to determine your hook. This is not a compulsory section; you can opt for it or always revisit it later.

Write down or mention at least 5 engagement campaigns to drive engagement.

Engagement Strategies

Let's jump into engagement campaigns!!!

Casual to Core

Segment	Casual users who watch high quality content (ICP5)
Goal	Increase engagement across iconic franchises (Marvel, Star Wars)
Pitch and content	Watch Unlock. Only true Marvel fan completes the quest. Reignite the thrill and get exciting offers
Channel	Email push notifications
Frequency	1-4 times a month
Timing	once a week
Success Metric	% watchlist completed No of free users turned into subscribers
Offer	50% off on 1st month of the subscription

Core to Power
Segment	Core user
Goal	Increase engagement across genres (Succession, House of dragons, Industry, HIMYM)
Pitch and content	Gamify discovery. Did you know? 5 different genres are trending on Hotstar this week Monday Blues - Light rom-com Tuesday Night - Drama Night WTF Wednesdays - Get some thrill and chill! Throwback Thursday - Kid, I know you're not going out and looking for a life partner. Let Ted remind you how chaotic your love life could be!
Channel	Email push notifications
Frequency	2-3 times a week
Timing	4 times a week
Success Metric	% watchlist completed No of super users turned into premium subscribers
Offer	Free upgrade for the next payment cycle Watch party invitation.

Core to Power
Segment	Non-metro Core User
Goal	Increase engagement across TV channels/ TV dramas
Pitch and content	From evening soaps to late-night headlines, your daily stories unfold here. Log in daily for your dose of drama and desh ki baat!
Channel	Email push notifications, Updates on Live trending news
Frequency	2-4 times a week
Timing	3 times a week
Success Metric	Average watch time No. of user increased from non-metros Prime time watch time MAU and DAU
Offer	Discount on Jio offers

Retention design

Figure out the retention data for your product. If you don't have access to the same, begin by adjusting the industry standards. Plot down the data and bring to life your retention curve. Draw out observations and insights from the same.

What is causing your users to churn?

Go back to your user insights and figure out the number one reason of churn by listing down all the factors.

Sources: https://secondmeasure.com/datapoints/streaming-services-customer-retention-ad-free-disney-plus-netfilx-hulu/

Approximate Retention Curve

App / Retention (days)	D1	D7	D28	Month 2	Month 3	Month 4	Month 5	Month 6
JioHotstar	85%	80%	78%	75%	75%	70%	68%	68%
Netflix	78%	78%	78%	72%	70%	70%	66%	66%
Amazon Prime	75%	72%	72%	68%	66%	65%	62%	60%

JioHotstar retention and viewership might fluctuate during IPL

Broad reasons for Churn:

Reason for drop off:
Multiple free plans available
Content library can feel overwhelming due to variety of content

Reasons for Churn

Voluntary Reasons

Content fatigue from the content library and not being able to decide what genre/movie to watch after a hectic day. Many users might see drama content more often.
Moviegoers and nerds might get access to a lot of spoilers before even watching the content
Cricket enthusiasts may drop off post IPL season
Ads interrupting multiple times even for a 20 min episode
Abundance of other OTT platforms with high quality content and easy discovery. JioHotstar requires a quite a bit of digging to discover highly rated content
Attempt to reduce screen time

Involuntary Reasons

Subscriptions auto-cancelled due to financial downturns.
Might not check email push notifications
Family priorities and getting busy with work
Addicted to short-form content leading to a short attention span
User might relocate to a region with poor Jio network/connectivity issues

Design resurrection campaigns

You have already created the engagement campaigns, resurrection campaigns are quite similar just keep in mind the churned users that are being targeted here.

(customized your campaigns as per the ICP you're targeting to bring back, add parameters accordingly)

We hope this helped you break the cold start problem!

Resurrection Campaign 1

Cricket Enthu signing off post IPL

Segment	ICP1 - Post IPL drop-off
Goal	Bring them back with sports-adjacent content and other live tournaments (Football)
Why would this campaign work ?	Keeps them updated about other genres they can watch. Genres that will give them the same amount of adrenaline
Pain point	User considers JioHotstar as a sports streaming platform
Content/Pitch	Miss the rush? Miss the energy? Your next tournament is here! Only on JioHotstar Why wait for the next tournament when Euphoria is keeping you energized (promote sport adjacent or thriller shows)
Offer	Free activation of super subscription for 1 month only if the user gets back on the platform within 14 days
Frequency	2 times a week
Timing	Trigger notification if the user has not engaged post IPL
Email	Personalize according to the tournament season. If there is a live tournament, send them a reminder a day before it starts Non-tournament season - Sport adjacent genre recommendation through email notification 'We haven't seen you in a while"
Success Metric	Reactivation Avg watch time increase post the campaign

Family person annoyed with the clutter

Segment	ICP2 - Users dealing with content fatigue
Goal	To bring them back on the platform with more personalized recommendations (based on history, genre)
Why would this campaign work ?	This campaign will be used to remind them of the "ME TIME BINGE". Makes the user feel seen beyond just the gatekeeper of animated kid's content
Pain point	Annoyed with the clutter Time constraints due to family
Content/Pitch	Your me time needs a makeover! This show gives us just that! Watch and don't forget to subscribe
Offer	Upgrade on the previous plan if the user subscribes( Super to premium on the same amount)
Frequency	3 times a week
Timing	Trigger notification if the user has not engaged or reactivated plan for the month
Email	Personalize according to the user browsing history and genre picks Tuesday for the Plot! - Watch the unfiltered drama with the Kardashians. Wednesday for the Family! - You think your family is chaotic enough. Here's the twist! Even Californian family got no chill
Success Metric	Increase in number of viewing sessions per week Avg watch time increase post the campaign

The Nerd! No one can match my taste in pop culture kind of nerd

Segment	Content dilemma. Have nothing to wear ? No. They end up watching nothing!
Goal	To recommend critically acclaimed shows
Why would this campaign work ?	Appeals to their taste with smart recommendations
Pain point	Since the content library is large, they end up discovering massy content (top 10 trends) Decision fatigue
Content/Pitch	Your time has come! Welcome to the game where the money talks! Watch "The dark money game"
Offer	Reactivation plan - 50% off for the next 2 months
Frequency	2 times a week
Timing	Trigger notifications if the user has not engaged for more than a month and has not reactivated their plan
Email	Personalize according to the user genre picks Tuesday for the Thrill! - Watch groundbreaking shows, one you have not heard of, only on Hotstar Friday for the Fun! - You think you're too cool? There's a political sitcom waiting for you. Politics + Comedy - Sounds familiar right?
Success Metric	Increase in number of viewing sessions per week Reactivation plan opted Average watch time over the next month

Desi Indie Fan

Segment	Tier 2 users feeling tired of the repetitive content
Goal	Reignite love for local storytelling by recommending hidden gems from India’s indie film scene
Why would this campaign work ?	Appeals to their taste with emotional resonance Gives them the appeal of diverse Indian content available on the platform
Pain point	Some Indian content feels too repetitive Tired of the massy content
Content/Pitch	Discover India's hidden cinematic brilliance - Only on JioHotstar
Offer	More than 2 devices if they login through their Jio phone number
Frequency	3 times a week
Timing	Trigger notification if the user has not engaged with the content for more than 2 weeks
Email	Personalize according to the highly rated hindi content (yet to be watched by the masses) Big Stars not your Thing? Good. Because we have exciting content in store for you!
Success Metric	Increase in number of viewing sessions per week Reactivation plan opted Average watch time over the next month