Jiohotstar closes in on Netflix, subscribers touch 300 million
The recently concluded edition of the Tata IPL seemed to be aiding in the subscriber addition, which had stood at just 50 million in February as per a media report.
The BCCI-promoted cricket league had many firsts in 2025, including digital viewership at 652 million crossing the 537 million on television, as per a report published by its parent Jiostar, which came into being in February this year with the merger of Reliance-led Jiocinema and Disney+Hotstar.
Sanjog Gupta, the chief executive for sports and live experiences for Jiostar, suggested that the high viewership also translated into revenues.
"We have managed to make this IPL the most monetised edition of the event and also the most monetised sporting event ever in India across advertising and subscription revenue," he said.
It can be noted that in 2022, Disney Star had won the TV rights of the tournament by offering Rs 23,575 crore for five years, while the India digital rights was bagged by Reliance-backed Viacom18 for Rs 20,500 crore.
There was a 5.16 per cent jump among those who watched the cricket league in the digital format -- then known as Jiocinema -- from 620 million last year.
However, the growth was restricted by a marginal 1.6 per cent dip in the TV watchers from the year-ago edition's 546 million who watched it on Star Sports.
The final fixture between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Punjab Kings on June 3 won by the Virat Kohli-led team from the southern city, had a reach of 237 million on digital, and 189 million on television, Jiostar said in a report.
It can be noted that in February, Jiostar had just 50 million subscribers which raced to 280 million by May with start of the cricketing league, as per a media report.
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