~The 19th season of IPL became the most watched season ever_
~ Connected TV emerges as fastest growing consumption platform with 22% YoY growth
~ 2026 final becomes most watched IPL match across all screens
Mumbai, June 15, 2026: JioStar today announced another historic season for the IPL, as the recently concluded season became the most watched season in the history of the league. In addition to delivering record-breaking growth across television and digital platforms, JioStar confirmed the league's position as India's biggest sports and entertainment show.
The reach of IPL 2026 surprisingly exceeded 1.2 billion, marking a growth of 7% year-on-year. Featuring new heroes, never-before-seen performances and compelling sub-plots, the season kept audiences glued to their screens and clocked up 870 billion minutes of viewing time. The IPL 2026 Final, which resulted in Royal Challengers Bangalore winning the trophy for the second consecutive year, saw viewership double, becoming the most watched IPL match ever, reaching over 400 million screens.
The 2026 season saw strong growth on digital screens. Connected TV continued its rapid progress with growth of 22%, underscoring the rapid convergence of television-scale reach with digital precision for advertisers. Digital video views reached 25 billion, representing an 8% increase year-over-year. The growth of digital was particularly driven by two audience segments, namely affluent consumers and young audiences, strengthening IPL's ability to attract premium consumers and future-facing audiences on an unparalleled scale. Regional language watch-time share on digital increased by 33%.
Speaking on the record viewership for IPL 2026, Ishan Chatterjee, CEO, Sports, Jiostar, said, “IPL 2026 was the season where we began our journey into what a truly integrated sports platform should look like. Our endeavor was to make every screen, every interaction and every moment meaningful, so that fans can not only watch the game on our platform, but also interact with it in a deeply relevant and personalized way. The end-of-season data is a testament to the efforts made across all our platforms. CTV's communal experience and regional-language presentation became an unprecedented growth driver. The end result was another IPL edition that opened up new possibilities for sponsors, advertisers, distribution partners and, more importantly, fans, all of which would not have been possible without their trust and the unwavering partnership of BCCI.
JioStar's presentation at the 19th edition of the IPL blended innovation with viewing experiences that spoke to the evolving needs and preferences of fans. From 30 feeds in 12 languages, a multi-cam experience and the newly introduced “Commentary with Champions” that brings together legends, former champions and the leading voices of the sport, fans were able to customize and enhance their viewing experience with a plethora of options at the tap of a screen.
The seamless integration of OpenAI and Swiggy into the IPL experience this season enabled every viewer to enjoy live sports in a more personalized and intuitive way. It also enabled brands to contextually participate in the audience's experience. JioStar's IPL 2026 presentation was supported by 125 new advertisers compared to last season, even as 22 sponsors partnered with JioHotstar, while 16 came to Star Sports Network.
With the successful completion of another historic season of IPL, JioStar is currently bringing the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026 to the viewers from June 12 to July 5, while the Men in Blue will embark on a white-ball tour of England for 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs from July 1.
Get every cricket update! Follow us: :
Leave a Reply