JioStar reports 10% revenue growth in Q2; JioHotstar reaches 440 million monthly users

JioStar, the media and entertainment business of Reliance Industries, reported a 10.1% year-on-year increase in revenue from operations to ₹6,806 crore for the September quarter, supported by subscription income and digital advertising even as the company navigated a weak advertising environment. The company reported revenue from operations of ₹6,179 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Gross revenue for the quarter stood at ₹7,944 crore, compared with ₹7,232 crore a year earlier, marking growth of 9.8%.

Profitability, however, remained under pressure. EBITDA from operations declined 10.5% year-on-year to ₹1,372 crore, against ₹1,533 crore in the year-ago quarter. Total EBITDA fell 13.6% to ₹1,502 crore, while profit after tax declined 13.2% to ₹1,147 crore from ₹1,322 crore.

The results point to a divergence between JioStar’s revenue growth and earnings performance, with subscription and digital advertising revenues supporting the top line but not fully offsetting the pressure on profitability.

JioHotstar's reach expands

Digital entertainment remained a key growth driver for JioStar during the quarter. JioHotstar averaged around 440 million monthly active users (MAUs), registering 10% year-on-year growth.

The platform also recorded more than 15% growth in entertainment watch time, driven by consumption across Hindi and regional markets.

JioStar said revenue from operations grew despite the weak advertising environment, with strong subscription revenue and digital entertainment advertising contributing to the performance. The company did not disclose a separate revenue breakdown for subscriptions and advertising.

The platform's international expansion also gained traction. JioHotstar was relaunched under its brand in Singapore, the UK and Canada in September, with active subscriber volumes across these markets increasing by around 30% since the launch.

The company is also seeking to deepen engagement across connected television (CTV). It said it had achieved near-complete reach across the CTV universe, with the average JioHotstar CTV viewer consuming three times as much content as a mobile viewer.

In another initiative to widen access, mobile-plan users were offered CTV access for up to two hours a month. Its 'Pay Kisi Aur Se' subscription payment solution generated 10% incremental payment initiations, according to the company.

Content strategy targets regional and mass audiences

JioStar continued to build its entertainment portfolio around Hindi and regional programming, with a mix of established franchises, new formats and longer-running series.

Shows such as India Ke Top 1%, Khatron Ke Khiladi, Hustle Season 5 and Bhojpuri Bawaal featured in the quarter's programming slate.

The Bigg Boss franchise, spanning six languages, collectively reached more than 90 million viewers on JioHotstar during its first three weeks. The company also launched Bigg Boss Bangla for the first three weeks. The company also launched Bigg Boss Bangla for the first time, with Sourav Ganguly as host.

Long-running programming continued to be an important part of the platform's content strategy. Resort became the most-watched show in JioHotstar's history, while Heart Beat S3 and Court recorded strong early performance. Thukra Ke Mera Pyaar S2 also registered an increase in viewership compared with its previous season.

The platform added another title to its original programming portfolio with Pritam & Pedro, directed by Rajkumar Hirani, which the company described as the most successful short-running series in JioHotstar's history.

JioStar's Tadka initiative added close to 100 shows across sports, reality and other genres, further expanding the platform's content offering.

Sports portfolio remains a key engagement driver

Sports continued to be a major component of JioStar's digital strategy, with the quarter featuring the England-India cricket series, Wimbledon 2026, the US Open 2026 and the opening stages of the Premier League 2026/27 season.

The England-India series became the biggest bilateral overseas series ever on JioHotstar in terms of digital viewership, according to the company.

Wimbledon, the US Open and the early Premier League season delivered stable viewership, alongside stronger monetisation. JioStar also expanded commerce integrations beyond cricket to include Wimbledon, the US Open and the Premier League.

The expansion of commerce integrations across sporting properties indicates the company's efforts to build additional monetisation opportunities around live sports audiences, beyond advertising and subscriptions.

Revenue growth outpaces earnings growth

For the first half of FY27, JioStar reported revenue from operations of ₹17,752 crore, up from ₹15,780 crore in the corresponding period last year. EBITDA from operations increased to ₹2,305 crore from ₹2,247 crore.

However, total EBITDA for the first half declined to ₹2,551 crore from ₹2,755 crore, while profit after tax stood at ₹1,812 crore, compared with ₹1,903 crore in the year-ago period.

The September-quarter performance highlights JioStar's growing digital scale, with JioHotstar's large monthly audience, expanding international footprint and broad entertainment and sports portfolio supporting revenue growth.

The key financial question remains how effectively the company can translate that expanding reach and engagement into sustained profitability. While subscription growth and digital advertising supported operating revenue in the quarter, the decline in EBITDA and net profit underscores the pressure on earnings.