India’s JioStar Reports $2 Billion in Half-Year Revenue, 400 Million Streaming Users
JioStar, the Indian media giant formed from the merger of Disney’s Star India and Reliance’s Viacom18, reported record quarterly EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) of $196 million with industry-leading margins of 28.1% for the quarter ended Sept. 30, parent company Reliance Industries has revealed.
The media business posted gross revenue of $815 million for Q2 FY26, with profit after tax reaching $149 million. For the half year, JioStar generated revenue of $2.08 billion with EBITDA of $310 million, representing a margin of 17.5%.
JioHotstar, the platform’s streaming service, averaged 400 million monthly active users during the quarter, demonstrating strong user retention following the conclusion of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. The platform’s ability to maintain engagement post-IPL was attributed to robust performance across both sports and entertainment properties.
The India-England Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy became the most-watched Test series ever on a digital platform, drawing 170 million viewers and setting a new reach benchmark for cricket on streaming services.
“Ongoing efforts in personalization and seamless content discovery, combined with effective marketing strategies, resulted in improved user retention and higher engagement,” the company stated in its results announcement.
The network reached over 830 million viewers on television, delivering more than 60 billion hours of watch time during the quarter. JioStar improved its TV entertainment viewership share by 30 basis points year-over-year to 34.5%.
On the sports front, the Wimbledon tennis championship saw 77% growth on JioHotstar, while the newly acquired U.S. Open set benchmarks with 388 million minutes of viewership on linear TV, marking the highest-ever for the tournament. Other key properties including Premier League soccer, Pro Kabaddi League Season 12, and the ICC Women’s World Cup cricket also launched successfully during the quarter.
Star Plus captured audiences with the highly anticipated revival of long-running soap “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,” which delivered record-breaking viewership across TV and digital platforms, representing the biggest Hindi-language general entertainment channel fiction launch in the past five years.
Digital subscriptions continued to grow strongly, supported by a curated content calendar and effective subscriber lifecycle management. Shows including “Special Ops 2,” “Sarzameen,” and “Heart Beat 2” not only set new platform benchmarks but also topped external ranking charts.
The platform’s international content library maintained strong performance, driven by increased adoption of dubbed content across various local languages, which expanded audience reach and engagement.
JioStar’s “Bigg Boss” franchise – the Indian adaptation of the “Big Brother” format – across the Hindi, Malayalam, and Telugu languages registered 55% year-over-year growth in watch-time on digital, while the third installment of the “Jolly LLB” film franchise delivered strong performance at the box office.
For the period from November 14, 2024 to March 31, 2025 (representing FY25 results), JioStar reported gross revenue of $1.24 billion with EBITDA of $87 million, representing an 8.1% margin during the initial post-merger period.
The media business posted gross revenue of $815 million for Q2 FY26, with profit after tax reaching $149 million. For the half year, JioStar generated revenue of $2.08 billion with EBITDA of $310 million, representing a margin of 17.5%.
JioHotstar, the platform’s streaming service, averaged 400 million monthly active users during the quarter, demonstrating strong user retention following the conclusion of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament. The platform’s ability to maintain engagement post-IPL was attributed to robust performance across both sports and entertainment properties.
The India-England Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy became the most-watched Test series ever on a digital platform, drawing 170 million viewers and setting a new reach benchmark for cricket on streaming services.
“Ongoing efforts in personalization and seamless content discovery, combined with effective marketing strategies, resulted in improved user retention and higher engagement,” the company stated in its results announcement.
The network reached over 830 million viewers on television, delivering more than 60 billion hours of watch time during the quarter. JioStar improved its TV entertainment viewership share by 30 basis points year-over-year to 34.5%.
On the sports front, the Wimbledon tennis championship saw 77% growth on JioHotstar, while the newly acquired U.S. Open set benchmarks with 388 million minutes of viewership on linear TV, marking the highest-ever for the tournament. Other key properties including Premier League soccer, Pro Kabaddi League Season 12, and the ICC Women’s World Cup cricket also launched successfully during the quarter.
Star Plus captured audiences with the highly anticipated revival of long-running soap “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,” which delivered record-breaking viewership across TV and digital platforms, representing the biggest Hindi-language general entertainment channel fiction launch in the past five years.
Digital subscriptions continued to grow strongly, supported by a curated content calendar and effective subscriber lifecycle management. Shows including “Special Ops 2,” “Sarzameen,” and “Heart Beat 2” not only set new platform benchmarks but also topped external ranking charts.
The platform’s international content library maintained strong performance, driven by increased adoption of dubbed content across various local languages, which expanded audience reach and engagement.
JioStar’s “Bigg Boss” franchise – the Indian adaptation of the “Big Brother” format – across the Hindi, Malayalam, and Telugu languages registered 55% year-over-year growth in watch-time on digital, while the third installment of the “Jolly LLB” film franchise delivered strong performance at the box office.
For the period from November 14, 2024 to March 31, 2025 (representing FY25 results), JioStar reported gross revenue of $1.24 billion with EBITDA of $87 million, representing an 8.1% margin during the initial post-merger period.