Reliance Industries' media and entertainment business delivers Rs 3,434 cr profit in FY26

Reliance Industries' media and entertainment business delivered a sharp turnaround in FY26, posting a profit after tax of Rs 3,434 crore, underscoring the growing importance of the conglomerate's consumer-facing businesses and validating its strategy of building a scaled digital-first entertainment ecosystem.

The media and entertainment vertical, comprising JioStar, JioHotstar, Network18 and Jio Studios, reported revenue of Rs 40,682 crore during FY26, nearly doubling from Rs 20,696 crore a year earlier. EBITDA surged 219% year-on-year to Rs 5,842 crore, while margins expanded 640 basis points to 16.7%, according to Reliance Industries' FY26 annual report.

The strong performance comes in the first full year following the integration of Reliance-backed media assets with Disney's India operations under JioStar, creating India's largest media and entertainment company.

Reliance said the business achieved record levels of viewership and engagement across television, digital and sports properties, helping drive robust double-digit revenue growth and significant profitability improvement. The company reported that JioStar's average monthly active users on JioHotstar rose 48% year-on-year to 451 million, while its television network reached 389 million daily active viewers across entertainment and sports channels.

The media vertical emerged as one of the fastest-growing businesses within Reliance's portfolio, outpacing growth in retail and digital services. While media and entertainment contributed around 3.5% of Reliance's consolidated revenue of Rs 11.76 lakh crore, the segment's profitability expansion highlights the operating leverage available in scaled content and distribution platforms.

"Media & Entertainment achieved record levels of viewership, registering industry-leading engagement metrics and robust double-digit revenue growth. EBITDA improved significantly with strong margin delivery," Reliance said in its management discussion and analysis.

The company's sports portfolio continued to be a key growth driver. JioHotstar recorded a global streaming concurrency record of 72.5 million viewers during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup final, while the tournament reached 956 million viewers across television and digital platforms. IPL 2025 attracted 426 million viewers for the final, with women accounting for 47% of total IPL viewership on Star Sports.

Entertainment content also delivered strong traction. Reliance said Jio Studios' film portfolio accounted for more than 40% of India's box-office collections during FY26. The company's blockbuster franchise "Dhurandhar" generated over Rs 3,000 crore in worldwide box-office revenues, making it the highest-grossing Indian film of all time.

Network18 strengthened its position in news, with its television network recording a 14.1% viewership share and digital platforms reaching around 300 million users every month. Moneycontrol retained leadership in business news and financial information, while Firstpost crossed 9 million subscribers on YouTube.

Industry tailwinds also supported growth. According to the EY-FICCI Media & Entertainment Report cited by Reliance, India's media and entertainment industry grew 9.1% in 2025 to Rs 2.78 trillion, with digital media revenues crossing Rs 1 lakh crore for the first time. Digital advertising grew 26% and now accounts for 63% of total advertising expenditure in the country.

The performance reflects a broader shift within Reliance's earnings mix toward consumer and technology-led businesses. Chairman Mukesh Ambani highlighted JioHotstar as a platform "reimagining storytelling for a billion voices" and combining technology, creativity and cultural relevance to shape how India experiences content.

The media business forms part of Reliance's expanding consumer ecosystem alongside retail and digital services. Together, the three segments generated over Rs 5.87 lakh crore in revenue and more than Rs 1.09 lakh crore in EBITDA during FY26, reinforcing the group's long-term strategy of reducing dependence on traditional energy businesses and building scalable consumer platforms.

For Reliance, the profitability milestone marks a significant step in transforming media from a high-investment growth business into a meaningful contributor to group earnings, at a time when streaming, sports rights and digital advertising are reshaping India's entertainment landscape.