JioHotStar makes an 'IPL 2025 request' to Reliance Jio, Airtel and Vodafone-Idea as days of 'Free' IPL over

JioStar, in an effort to boost viewership for the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), is reportedly engaged in active discussions with Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) to bundle its streaming subscriptions with their data plans. This strategic move is pivotal, considering that live sports, including IPL, are now behind a paywall. As per a report in Economic Times, “With live sports now behind a paywall, these partnerships will be pivotal to JioStar’s objective of reaching over 1 billion viewers across television and digital platforms for the upcoming IPL. In 2024, IPL viewership on JioCinema reached 620 million, while on the Star Sports network, it was 541 million.”
Industry experts anticipate these bundles will significantly boost telecom data consumption, mirroring the surge witnessed when live cricket was freely available on JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar. "These telecom partnerships will help JioHotstar reach a large internet audience base, especially now that it’s behind a paywall," an executive involved in the talks told ET, indicating discussions encompass both mobile and home broadband deals.

The IPL 2025 is a critical event for JioStar, formed through the merger of Disney’s Star India and Reliance’s Viacom18. The company aims to secure Rs 4,500 crore in advertising revenue and has already onboarded 20 sponsors, capitalizing on IPL's extensive reach.
The transition to paid streaming on JioHotstar, which boasts over 50 million paid subscribers and 500 million total users, is expected to drive growth in India’s subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) market. Media Partners Asia reports that India’s SVOD subscriptions rebounded to 125 million in 2024 and are projected to continue growing.
Notably, JioHotstar's content deal with Airtel recently expired, making its renewal a priority, especially following the successful ICC Champions Trophy 2025, which saw over 5.4 billion views, with the India vs New Zealand final reaching 1.24 billion views and a peak concurrency of 61.2 million.
As of December, India's telecom subscriber base included 476.58 million for Jio, 289.31 million for Airtel, and 126.38 million for Vi, according to TRAI data. Jio currently offers JioHotstar access with select prepaid plans, including a three-month subscription. Sources indicate that Airtel and Vi are expected to introduce similar JioHotstar bundled plans upon finalizing their agreements, ensuring seamless access to IPL and other content.

JioHotstar, owned by JioStar -- a joint venture of Reliance Industries, Disney, and Bodhi Tree Systems—offers tiered subscription plans: Mobile (Rs 499/year), Super (Rs 899/year), and Premium (Rs 1,499/year). The Premium plan is ad-free, except for live events.