Sports and digital fuel JioStar growth; FMCG cuts hit TV ads: Sports CEO Ishan Chatterjee

JioStar’s fourth quarter performance reflected a business increasingly anchored in digital scale, strong sports monetisation and steady subscription momentum, even as traditional television advertising remained under pressure.

During the earnings call, Ishan Chatterjee, CEO-Sports, JioStar, said the company’s linear TV entertainment share stood at 34.7%, nearly matching the combined share of the next three networks, while digital entertainment continued to expand rapidly.

Watch time in the segment grew 35%, translating into record digital ad revenue growth driven by a broader advertiser base and improved monetisation. At the same time, TV entertainment ad revenues were impacted by continued spending cuts from FMCG players, although disciplined cost management helped the company deliver industry-leading EBITDA margins alongside overall revenue growth led by subscriptions, he said.

The company reported a monthly active user base of 550 million in March, powered by a strong mix of sports and entertainment content. Even outside marquee cricket tournaments, the platform is now consistently reaching over 400 million users monthly, indicating a structural expansion in its digital footprint, Chatterjee said.

“A key driver of engagement during the quarter was cricket, particularly the T20 World Cup, which set a global benchmark for concurrency. The company recorded 72.5 million concurrent streams during the tournament—surpassing the previous global record of 65 million. This momentum carried forward into the IPL, where the opening weekend delivered the highest-ever viewership for the tournament on the platform, with overall reach up 15% and connected TV consumption growing 27%,” he said.

Chatterjee also highlighted a series of technology-led initiatives aimed at strengthening the platform’s competitiveness. On JioHotstar, the company introduced “Tadka,” a microcontent offering with over 100 shows, alongside a deeper integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT to enable voice-based, vernacular-friendly search. It also rolled out a content-commerce integration with Swiggy, allowing users to order food directly within the app during live matches—marking its first large-scale in-app commerce experiment.

Sports remained central to growth, with properties like the Women’s Premier League and the T20 World Cup delivering strong gains. The WPL saw reach grow 20% and watch time jump 80%, reflecting rising interest in women’s cricket. The T20 World Cup, meanwhile, drove a 30% increase in platform reach compared to the previous edition and became the most monetised edition of the tournament for the company, despite the absence of real-money gaming advertisers.

On the entertainment side, flagship and original content also contributed to engagement. Bigg Boss recorded a 40% increase in digital viewership, while newer titles like Chiraiya and reality formats such as Splitsvilla and The 50 delivered strong traction, with the latter clocking the platform’s biggest-ever season premiere.

Overall, JioStar closed the quarter with total reach nearing 500 million, up 10% sequentially, alongside robust subscriber additions driven largely by sports. While digital continues to scale rapidly across both consumption and monetisation, the company’s performance also highlights the ongoing divergence between growing digital revenues and the pressure in traditional TV advertising.