In a significant leap that underscores the growing dominance of homegrown digital platforms, JioHotstar has announced that its total subscriber base has touched the 300 million mark — bringing it just within striking distance of Netflix’s last reported global count of 301.63 million.

According to a PTI report, the staggering jump in subscriptions was largely fuelled by the just-concluded Tata IPL 2025, which proved to be a watershed moment for India’s digital streaming industry. The cricket tournament not only delivered record-breaking digital viewership but also helped JioHotstar catapult from a modest 50 million subscribers in February to 280 million by May, before touching the 300 million milestone in June.

The BCCI-promoted IPL saw digital viewership hit 652 million, surpassing television’s 537 million — a notable first in the history of the tournament. The figures were shared in a report by Jiostar, the newly formed entity that emerged in February 2025 after the merger of Reliance-backed JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar.

Sanjog Gupta, CEO of Sports and Live Experiences at Jiostar, underlined the commercial impact of this shift, stating, “We have managed to make this IPL the most monetised edition of the event and also the most monetised sporting event ever in India across advertising and subscription revenue.”

Back in 2022, Disney Star had secured television rights for the IPL by bidding Rs.23,575 crore for five years, while digital rights were awarded to Viacom18 for Rs.20,500 crore. Despite a slight 1.6 per cent dip in TV viewership from last year’s 546 million, digital witnessed a 5.16 per cent increase from the previous 620 million viewers on what was then Jiocinema.

The final match of the IPL, featuring Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Punjab Kings on June 3, drew massive digital attention with a reach of 237 million, compared to 189 million on television. Overall, the total IPL reach across TV and digital platforms stood at 1.19 billion, with average daily reach peaking at 170 million on digital and 121 million on TV.

The report also offered deep insights into the composition of the audience. A whopping 652 million tuned in on JioHotstar’s streaming service, while connected TV accounted for 235 million viewers and 417 million accessed matches via mobile. Android app downloads for Jiostar touched 1.04 billion. Peak concurrency — the highest number of users watching simultaneously — hit an all-time high of 55.2 million.

On the content consumption front, television recorded 514 billion minutes of watch time. Language-wise, Telugu audiences witnessed the fastest growth at 87 per cent over the previous edition, followed by Kannada (65 percent), Tamil (52 percent), and Hindi (31 percent).

The advertising ecosystem also saw robust activity, with 425 brands from 40 categories participating — including 270 first-time advertisers. Among the teams, Royal Challengers Bengaluru led in video viewership with over 330 million views, while Mumbai Indians topped TV watch time with a cumulative 106 billion minutes.

JioHotstar’s surge puts it nearly on par with global OTT leader Netflix, which reported 301.6 million subscribers across 190 countries by the end of December 2024, with 18 million additions in the October-December quarter alone.

As India’s digital consumption accelerates, the JioHotstar story could mark a new chapter in the streaming wars — where local content and massive live sports events prove to be the game-changers.