JIOSTAR, THE MEDIA AND ENTERTAINMENT joint venture between Reliance Industries (RIL) and Disney India, is emerging as a hybrid media powerhouse, powered by three primary engines: sports, subscriptions, and digital ads., along with focus on leveraging technology to drive future growth.
JioStar is making aggressive technology-led bets in AI, micro-content, and commerce to future-proof its platform, Ishan Chatterjee, CEO Sports, JioStar, said during an earnings call. The brand is combining TV scale, digital reach, and AI-driven innovation, positioning itself as India’s strongest challenger to global streaming platforms.
Voice-enabled search powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT now supports Indian accents, regional languages and dialects. This significantly improves content discovery and accessibility in India’s multilingual market. In micro-content (Tadka), 100+ short-format shows have been launched, combining horizontal and vertical content formats designed for mobile-first, snackable consumption.
Through in-app commerce (Swiggy Instamart integration) users can order food directly within the streaming app during live matches. This is the first large-scale content-commerce integration in India. This represents a shift toward “watch + transact” ecosystems, blending entertainment and commerce.
Sports dominance
A key highlight was its unmatched scale in digital streaming, with 500–550 million monthly active users, and a global record 72.5 million concurrent viewers during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final Cricket remained the primary growth engine, with IPL 2026 delivering record reach and engagement, alongside strong growth in the Women’s Premier League.
JioStar’s dominance is tightly linked to premium cricket rights, delivering unmatched scale and monetisation. The IPL 2026 continues to further sustain the momentum with 515 million viewers across TV + digital (opening weekend), 15% growth in digital reach, and 27% growth in Connected TV (CTV) reach. Live cricket continues to be the single largest engagement and monetisation driver.
Digital scale and sbscription momentum has come through 500–550 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs). The brand has maintained ~400 million MAUs even without marquee events and direct-to-consumer subscriptions hit all-time highs. Growth was aided by new affordable monthly plans and improved accessibility across demographics.
Landmark performance
The company has delivered a landmark financial and operational performance in FY2025–26, emerging as a dominant force across television and digital streaming in India. The company not only reported record annual revenue of ₹36,248 crore, but also set a global benchmark in live streaming concurrency, underscoring its scale in sports-led digital consumption.
JioStar reported a ₹3,210 crore profit, driven by strong growth in sports content, digital subscriptions, and advertising. In Q4 FY26, revenue rose 22% to ₹9,784 crore, though profit declined sequentially to ₹419 crore, reflecting investment cycles despite maintaining a healthy 28.1% EBITDA margin.
While digital advertising surged, traditional TV ad revenue faced pressure due to FMCG spending cuts. However, the company retained dominance in linear TV with a 34.7% market share, nearly matching its closest competitors combined. Digital ad revenue hit record highs, driven by Connected TV expansion, better content monetisation, and strong performance by sports and digital ads. However TV entertainment advertising declined as FMCG brands cut ad spending impacting linear TV revenues.
Linear TV is still a dominant pillar and despite digital growth, TV remains critical with 810 million viewers nationwide reach; 34.2% TV entertainment viewership share (Q4), and 34.7% full-year share. This share is nearly equal to the next three networks combined, reinforcing JioStar’s leadership.
