Comedy Central, Vh1, MTV Beats among channels to go off-air; Sports18 rebranded under Star Sports banner
JioStar will discontinue nine of its existing channels from March 15, 2025, as per its revised reference interconnect offer (RIO). This move follows the 7th annual e-auction by Prasar Bharati for DD Free Dish slots and aligns with the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) directives on the merger between Reliance Industries’ Viacom18 and Disney Star India.
Among the discontinued channels are Comedy Central, Vh1, MTV Beats (both SD and HD versions), Bindass, Colors Odia, and Star Kiran HD, with market conditions cited as a key factor for their removal.
Channels to be discontinued:
- Comedy Central
- Vh1
- MTV Beats
- Comedy Central HD
- Vh1 HD
- MTV Beats HD
- Bindass
- Colors Odia
- Star Kiran HD
As part of the network’s expansion, JioStar is introducing eight new sports channels. Two—Star Sports 2 Telugu HD and Star Sports 2 Tamil HD—are fresh additions, while six existing Sports18 channels have been rebranded under the Star Sports umbrella, including Star Sports 2 Kannada HD.
New Sports Channels:
Star Sports 2 Telugu HD
Star Sports 2 Tamil HD
Rebranded Sports Channels
Star Sports First → Star Sports 2 Kannada
Sports18 1 → Star Sports 2 Hindi
Sports18 2 → Star Sports 2 Telugu
Sports18 3 → Star Sports 2 Tamil
Sports18 Khel → Star Sports Khel
Sports18 1 HD → Star Sports 2 Hindi HD
Additionally, JioStar has moved Star Utsav and Colors Rishtey to the Free-to-Air (FTA) category after securing DD Free Dish slots. Meanwhile, Sports18 Khel, which did not participate in the e-auctions, has been renamed Star Sports Khel and transitioned into a pay channel, priced at ₹1.
Star Utsav – Moved to FTA
Colors Rishtey – Moved to FTA
Sports18 Khel → Rebranded as Star Sports Khel (Pay Channel, ₹1 MRP)