JioHotstar closes in on Netflix's global score

THE INDIAN PREMIER League's 2025 edition has put JioHotstar within striking distance of Netflix's global subscriber base of 300 million.

- ALOKANADA CHAKRABORTY

According to a report by Financial Times, subscriptions to the over-the-top (OTT) platform born out of the merger of Disney+Hotstar and Jio Cinema barely three months ago have jumped to 280 million this month, up from 200 million reported by the platform in April.

The FT report quotes Sanjog Gupta, JioStar's chief executive for sports, saying, "It has been the biggest season of IPL till now both in terms of viewership as well as monetisation." JioStar is eyeing a revenue of ₹4,500 crore from the event.

With revenues of ₹26,000 crore (FY24), JioStar is India's second largest media company after Google. Launched on February 14 this year, the JioHotstar OTT platform started its innings with 50 million paid subscribers. Over the next two months, it added a whopping 150 million subscribers.

That early surge was attributed in large part to the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy hosted by the Pakistan Cricket Board from February 19 to March 9, 2025 that featured 15 matches held across three venues in Pakistan and one in the United Arab Emirates.