Meta’s Muse AI not amusing experts; data privacy concerns raised 
Govt. body to examine ‘Satluj’ issue for future course of action 
Govt says security concerns led to directions to Z5 on ‘Sutluj 
DPOs seek to pare payout to b’casters amid revenue challenges 
Indian Govt. to summon Meta over Insta CSAM ads allegations 
‘KBC’ S18 returns Aug 10 with ‘Sochna Padega’ theme 
Maharashtra, Centre step up preparations for WAVES 2027 
Indian Govt. working to get F1 back on track at Buddh Intl. Circuit 
Zee to hive off Zee Music into subsidiary before stake sale 
Harrdy Sandhu, Simrat Kaur team up for ‘Ranjheya’ 
JioStar reported a 14 percent year-on-year rise in revenue from operations to Rs. 10,946 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, while EBITDA from operations surged 30.7 percent to Rs. 933 crore, driven by strong subscription revenue growth, higher digital entertainment advertising revenue and operating leverage, according to Reliance Industries’ quarterly business update yesterday.
The media company’s reported gross revenue of Rs. 12,799 crore during the first quarter of FY 2026-27 was up 14.1 percent from a year earlier. Profit after tax rose 14.5 percent year-on-year to Rs. 665 crore, while EBITDA increased 3.1 percent to Rs. 1,049 crore. EBITDA margin stood at 9.6 percent compared with 10.6 percent in the year-ago quarter.
Investment income declined 61.7 percent to Rs. 116 crore, while finance costs fell 62.7 percent to Rs. 44 crore, according to the financial results, according to a Reliance press release.
JioHotstar recorded its highest-ever average monthly active users (MAUs) of 530 million during the quarter, up 15 percent year-on-year, aided by strong sports and entertainment viewership.
The platform said entertainment watch time increased 16 percent from a year ago, while its microcontent hub ‘Tadka’ crossed 100 million active users within two months of launch, with daily watch time per viewer increasing fivefold since launch.
The company said the 2026 edition of the IPL became the biggest-ever T20 event with a combined reach of 1.2 billion across digital and linear television, including a digital reach of 700 million.
Regional-language watch-time share during the tournament rose 33 percent on digital. Despite macroeconomic challenges, particularly those arising from the Middle East conflict, the tournament delivered strong monetisation.
Meanwhile, the parent company JioStar also introduced AI-powered multilingual voice search through its OpenAI partnership and integrated in-app food ordering with Swiggy during live sports broadcasts.
JioStar said its television entertainment network maintained leadership with a 34 percent viewership share, reaching more than 810 million viewers across India.
In the Hindi-speaking markets pay TV segment, it commanded a 44 percent viewership share, with ‘Laughter Chefs Season 3’ emerging as the top non-fiction show and Star Plus featuring five of the top 10 Hindi general entertainment programmes during the quarter.
The company said Star Utsav retained leadership in the free-to-air segment after joining DD Free Dish in April 2025, while Star Pravah, Star Jalsha, Star Maa, Star Vijay, Asianet and Colors Gujarati continued to lead in their respective regional markets.
JioStar also remained the top-ranked kids’ television network with a 47 percent viewership share during the quarter.
On the digital entertainment front, JioHotstar said Originals continued to perform strongly, with the second seasons of ‘Thukra Ke Mera Pyaar’ and ‘Inspector Avinash’ recording 50 percent and 65 percent season-on-season growth, respectively.
It added that ‘Pritam and Pedro’ became the number one Hindi Special of 2026, while the live premiere of ‘Dhurandhar: The Revenge’ on JioHotstar attracted record live viewership, with one in four viewers participating through live chat, memes and trivia, and one in five engaging with commerce features.
