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Tag: Star Sports

  • BGMS 4 drops with Rs 1.5 crore loot, fresh faces and fierce inclusivity

    BGMS 4 drops with Rs 1.5 crore loot, fresh faces and fierce inclusivity

    MUMBAI: Drop in, loot up, and get ready for the chaos. BGMS is back, and it’s bigger than ever. Nodwin Gaming has unleashed Season 4 of the Oneplus Android Battlegrounds Mobile India Masters Series, airing live on Star Sports Khel and JioHotstar daily from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM until 14 September, with a staggering Rs 1.5 crore prize pool on the line.

    But it’s not just about the loot this time. The tournament has levelled up with the launch of the Battlegrounds Mobile India Challenger Series (BGCS), the official amateur feeder league into the BGMS. Featuring 24 squads including 2 campus champs from the Oneplus Campus Dominate qualifiers, 1 team from TVS Raider Wicked Battles, 17 invited rosters, and a historic 4 all-women line-ups the Challenger Series is bringing fresh blood and fearless energy to Indian esports. Matches stream live on Nodwin’s Youtube channel from 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm every day.

    “BGMS has become more than a tournament; it’s a cultural movement,” said Nodwin Gaming co-founder and MD Akshat Rathee. “Season 4 champions inclusivity at every level, from campus qualifiers to all-women teams on national television.”

    Title sponsor Oneplus is back for another round, powering gameplay with its flagship Oneplus 13 and Nord series. Android continues as co-title sponsor, while TVS Motor Company rides in as official mobility partner for a third year running with its TVS Raider Wicked Battles initiative.

    New faces join the fray too Duolingo English Test debuts as official learning partner, rolling out even a Gujarati-language feed, while Swiggy steps in as official food delivery partner, keeping players and crews fed through marathon matchdays. Red Bull fuels players for a second year, while Bisleri makes its debut as Hydration Partner.

    The BGCS runs till 7 September, setting the stage for BGMS Season 4’s finale stretch. With esports on primetime TV and national brands stacking up behind the action, BGMS isn’t just gaming anymore, it’s India’s newest sporting spectacle.

  • YouTube ropes in Viacom18 cricket advertising veteran

    YouTube ropes in Viacom18 cricket advertising veteran

    MUMBAI: YouTube has hired Shridhar Venkataramana as strategic partner manager for content partnerships, marking a significant coup for the Google-owned video platform in India’s lucrative cricket advertising market.

    The appointment sees Venkataramana move from Viacom18 Media, where he spent three years as senior director of cricket brand solutions. He brings deep expertise in cricket monetisation, having previously orchestrated brand partnerships across marquee tournaments including ICC, BCCI and ACC events during his six-and-a-half-year tenure at Star TV network. At Star Sports, he progressed through roles spanning revenue strategy and key account management, developing pricing models for some of cricket’s most valuable properties.

    Venkataramana’s career trajectory began at PepsiCo, where he cut his teeth as a management trainee before advancing to area sales manager. His LinkedIn announcement cheekily noted the transition from being “on YouTube” to being “in YouTube.”

    The hire underscores YouTube’s ambitions to capture a larger slice of India’s sports advertising pie, particularly as cricket viewership increasingly migrates to digital platforms. With India representing YouTube’s largest market by user base, securing experienced sports media executives has become critical to the platform’s revenue growth strategy.

    The appointment, effective August 2025, positions YouTube to better compete with established broadcasters for premium cricket content partnerships and advertising deals in the world’s most cricket-obsessed market.

  • Pavan Kumar Allada to lead corporate strategy at Sun TV Network

    Pavan Kumar Allada to lead corporate strategy at Sun TV Network

    CHENNAI: Sun TV network has appointed Pavan Kumar Allada as head of corporate strategy, strengthening its leadership bench at a time when the southern broadcaster is sharpening its digital and growth ambitions.

    Allada joins from Disney Star, where he spent over ten years in key strategy roles at Star Sports. His remit spanned business planning, consumer insights, acquisitions, scheduling and partnerships. Most recently, he served as senior manager for content and acquisition strategy, consumer insights and scheduling, shaping programming and growth decisions for the network’s sports business.

    Earlier roles at Star Sports included business strategy and sales revenue planning, giving him a front-row seat to India’s booming sports broadcasting market.

    An MBA in marketing and strategy from IIM Lucknow and a BTech from IIT Madras, Allada also co-founded an entrepreneurial food venture, Gossip N Bite, early in his career.

    At Sun TV network, he will be responsible for driving corporate strategy, business growth initiatives and acquisition plays, while embedding consumer-first thinking into the company’s long-term plans. The move underscores Sun’s intent to fortify its position not just as a dominant regional broadcaster, but also as a player navigating the shifting media and digital consumption landscape.

  • JioStar top executive Sanjog Gupta named ICC CEO

    JioStar top executive Sanjog Gupta named ICC CEO

    MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has appointed Sanjog Gupta as its new chief executive officer, marking a bold leadership move at a time when cricket is chasing global expansion and Olympic glory. Gupta, currently CEO – sports & live experiences at JioStar, will take charge on from 7 July becoming the seventh CEO in the ICC’s history.

    A media and sports veteran with over two decades of experience, Gupta is widely credited with reshaping India’s sports broadcast landscape. He previously headed Disney Star’s sports business, playing a key role in scaling the IPL, ICC events, and launching leagues such as PKL and ISL. His appointment follows a global recruitment drive that drew over 2,500 applicants from 25 countries.

    ICC chairman Jay Shah said, “Sanjog brings extensive experience in sports strategy and commercialisation, which will be invaluable for the ICC. His deep understanding of the global sports as well as M&E landscape combined with his continued curiosity about the cricket fan’s perspective and passion for technology will prove essential in our ambition to grow the game in the coming years. Our goal is to move beyond traditional boundaries and establish cricket as a regular sport in the Olympics, growing its expanse across the world and deepening its roots in its core markets.

    We considered several exceptional candidates for this position, but the nominations committee unanimously recommended Sanjog. The ICC board directors look forward to working closely with him, and I would like to welcome him on behalf of everyone at the ICC.”

    Gupta’s selection was unanimously recommended by a nominations panel featuring ICC deputy chair Imran Khwaja, ECB chair Richard Thompson, SLC president Shammi Silva, and BCCI honorary secretary Devajit Saikia, before being approved by Shah and ratified by the full ICC board.

    Gupta said he was “honoured” to lead cricket at a pivotal moment. “It is a privilege to have this opportunity, especially at a time when cricket is poised for unprecedented growth and enjoys the passionate support of almost 2 billion fans worldwide. These are exciting times for the sport as marquee events grow in stature, commercial avenues widen and opportunities such as the women’s game scale in popularity. Cricket’s inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and the rapid acceleration of technology deployment/adoption could act as force-multipliers for the Cricket movement around the world,” he concluded.

    Gupta took over as CEO of JioStar Sports in late 2024 following the Viacom18–Disney Star merger. Known for fusing business savvy with creative storytelling, he championed innovations such as multi-language coverage and digital-first formats — especially around women’s sports.

    The ICC, under his leadership, will now look to script cricket’s next global chapter.

  • JioStar hits it out of the park as Tata IPL 2025 smashes a billion-viewer milestone

    JioStar hits it out of the park as Tata IPL 2025 smashes a billion-viewer milestone

    MUMBAI: The 18th season of the Tata IPL was pure box-office cricket, and JioStar—the broadcast juggernaut of Star Sports and JioHotstar—made sure the world was watching. The tournament clocked a jaw-dropping 840 billion minutes of total watch-time and reached an eye-popping one billion viewers, making it the most-watched season in T20 history.

    Digital viewing surged 29 per cent year-on-year, with JioHotstar racking up 23.1 billion views and 384.6 billion minutes of watch-time, riding on a massive 49 per cent jump in Connected TV consumption. Meanwhile, Star Sports delivered 456 billion minutes of live broadcast content, pulling in the highest-ever average TV ratings across demos.

    The Tata IPL 2025 Final was nothing short of a cricketing supernova:

     . 31.7 billion minutes of combined watch-time

     . 169 million TV viewers

     .  892 million video views on digital

     .  55 million peak concurrency on JioHotstar

     .  A record-smashing 16.74 billion minutes on digital alone

    It was also the stuff of legends on the pitch. Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifted the trophy, Virat Kohli tasted long-overdue IPL glory, and 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi stunned the world as the youngest centurion in IPL history.

    JioStar CEO – Sports and Live Experiences, Sanjog Gupta said, “The incredible viewership numbers are reinforcement of our belief in the commitment to serve fans and the potential for growth of even a scaled property like the Tata IPL.”

    “We had a two-pronged approach this season.We wanted to widen the consideration for the tournament experience, by focusing on key viewer cohorts which had a light-touch relationship with IPL while also offering a deep, navigable consumer journey to grow engagement with committed fans. From non-viewers and fringe viewers co-viewing the IPL to deeply immersed fanatics, JioStar offered customized offerings for a wide spectrum of distinct cohorts defined by age, consumption profile and region. From the invite and proposition to the broadcast, we were committed to delivering hyper-personalized experiences that are inclusive, intuitive, interactive, and immersive. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the fans, whosepassion and love for the game inspires us. We would also thank BCCI and our partners, whose support is critical in our endeavor to constantly raise the bar on industry-defining experiences we offer on our platforms,” he added.

    Tech-wise, JioStar upped the ante with MaxView 2.0, voice search, 12-language content, Dolby Atmos, VR 360 Live, and Sign Language feeds—making cricket not just watchable, but immersive. The tournament’s “Yahaan Sab Possible Hai” theme rang true despite a mid-season suspension, with fans tuning in in record numbers from the get-go—49.56 billion minutes in just the opening weekend.

    With Shubman Gill and ‘Generation Bold’ now gearing up to face Ben Stokes and Bazball in England starting 20 June, JioStar’s cricketing blitz shows no signs of slowing down.

  • Aamir Khan swaps silver screen for cricket commentary box in IPL playoffs and final

    Aamir Khan swaps silver screen for cricket commentary box in IPL playoffs and final

    MUMBAI: Mumbai’s cricket fever just got a Hindi cinema twist. Aamir Khan, the thinking man’s action hero, is ditching his director’s chair for the commentary box as JioStar unveiled its star-studded lineup for the Tata IPL playoff and final on 1 June and 3 June respectively.

    The Lagaan legend, whose cricket credentials go beyond mere acting, donned the headset alongside seasoned commentators for Qualifier 2 and will also do so for the final showdown. Khan will join the pre-show festivities on Star Sports and JioHotstar with Genelia D’Souza and the cast of his upcoming film Sitaare Zameen Par, promising viewers a heady cocktail of cinema and cricket on 3 June.

    But this isn’t just celebrity window-dressing. Khan plans to roll up his sleeves, dissect match strategies, make bold predictions, and—true to form—inject his trademark perfectionism into play-by-play analysis. The actor-turned-pundit will share the mic with JioStar’s panel of former IPL champions, creating what promises to be television gold.

    “Nothing matches the energy and stakes of the Tata IPL playoffs and I’m quite excited to be at JioStar’s studios for these crucial playoff games,” Khan said. “Personally, I think both matches are going to be a cracker considering the teams still in contention, and I’m looking forward to commentating off the field.”

    The coverage began from 29 May  through 3 June, with Khan’s commentary debut bookending the tournament’s climactic weekend. Cricket purists and Hindi cinema buffs alike can catch the action exclusively on Star Sports Network and JioHotstar.

    If Khan brings half the intensity he showed in Dangal to the commentary box, viewers are in for a treat that’s equal parts sporting spectacle and entertainment extravaganza.

  • JioStar blitzes in FY 2025, clocks Rs 10,006 crore in revenue since merger

    JioStar blitzes in FY 2025, clocks Rs 10,006 crore in revenue since merger

    MUMBAI: JioStar is scripting a blockbuster success story, delivering a knockout performance since its merger launch on 14 November 2024. The entertainment juggernaut reported gross revenues of Rs 10,006 crore and an EBITDA of Rs 774 crore, posting a margin of 7.7 per cent — all while still ramping up operations.

    At the heart of this meteoric rise lies JioHotstar, the OTT powerhouse that debuted on 14 February 2025 and rapidly changed the game. Within just five weeks, JioHotstar crossed the milestone of 100 million paid subscribers — a feat unrivalled in the Indian streaming landscape. By March-end, monthly active users (MAUs) hit a staggering 503 million, thanks to a blockbuster calendar packed with the ICC Champions Trophy, IPL, and a digital library boasting over 320,000 hours of content.

    Sport was JioStar’s turbocharger with IPL 2025 opening with fireworks, clocking 1.4 billion digital views (a 35 per cent spike year-on-year), 253 million TV viewers (up 14 per cent), and a colossal 49.6 billion minutes of total watch time across platforms (up 33 per cent). JioHotstar alone posted a dazzling 38 per cent jump in digital viewership, buoyed by a 47 per cent surge in connected TV (CTV) audiences and a 60 per cent higher CTV watch time.

    The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 turned out to be another mega-hit, recording the highest TV ratings ever for a multi-nation cricket tournament in India. The tournament delivered a 4.3 TVR — a 23 per cent gain over the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 — and set a new peak concurrency record with a staggering 61.2 million live viewers during the final.

    JioStar also scored with the Tata WPL season 3, which posted a 19 per cent ratings lift and expanded its reach by 49 per cent. On JioHotstar, WPL viewership surged by 34 per cent, underpinned by a massive 130 per cent growth in CTV engagement.

    In a strategic brand play, all sports channels were unified under the Star Sports banner, now comprising 24 channels — with dedicated Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada sports offerings to deepen regional footprints.
    Beyond cricket fever, JioHotstar is claimed to be reshaping entertainment with a new wave of digital experiences. The Mahashivratri night live-stream drew an impressive 39 million views, while Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres tour streamed live to 8.3 million fans, bringing global experiences closer to Indian audiences.

    A new content vertical, “Sparks,” featuring short, snappy segments from India’s top digital superstars, has tapped into the nation’s appetite for quick-binge entertainment — a strategic play to capture Gen Z and millennial attention spans.

    Coupled with its arsenal of premium OTT originals and international content, JioHotstar is fast positioning itself as the de facto platform for premium digital storytelling.

    While the digital frontier blazed ahead, linear TV continued to deliver knockout blows.

    Star Plus cemented its dominance as India’s top Hindi GEC, with six out of the top 10 shows under its belt. Star Gold’s premiere of Stree 2 garnered a reach of 41.2 million, further reinforcing its draw among movie buffs.
    Regional GECs — Star Pravah (Marathi), Star Jalsha (Bengali), Star Maa (Telugu), Star Vijay (Tamil), and Asianet (Malayalam) — retained their #1 spots across states, showcasing JioStar’s deep local connect.

    Meanwhile, niche genres — Kids, Youth, and English — remained the network’s unchallenged playgrounds, extending JioStar’s leadership across every major viewer segment.

    In less than six months post-merger, JioStar has not just delivered on audacious promises — it has rewritten the rulebook. With a dominant hold across digital and linear entertainment, record-breaking sports audiences, and an evolving playbook for new-age content, JioStar is emerging as India’s undisputed entertainment giant.

    As Reliance’s media empire keeps building momentum, it’s clear that for rivals, the chase is only getting harder.

  • Foreign brands bowl over India as IPL turns global advertising pitch

    Foreign brands bowl over India as IPL turns global advertising pitch

    MUMBAI: As the Tata IPL 2025 continues to bowl over audiences with record-breaking viewership, it’s not just the players on the pitch who are playing for high stakes. Global brands are stepping up to bat, making India’s biggest sporting spectacle their preferred launchpad for business growth and JioStar’s broadcast and digital platforms their prime ad real estate.

    Joining the international sponsor squad this season is Danube Properties, coming on board as a ‘co-powered by’ sponsor on Star Sports, and Lattafa Perfumes, which becomes the first international retail brand to advertise on JioStar’s cricket coverage. Their presence signals a wider trend: cricket is no longer just India’s game, it’s the world’s marketing playground.

    In recent seasons, JioStar has attracted heavyweights like Etihad, Emirates, Disney Cruise Line, DP World, Qatar Airways, Turkish Airlines, Saudi Tourism, and more. Sectors like real estate, aviation, and tourism have taken centre stage, capitalising on cricket’s pan-India reach and its increasing influence in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

    JioStar chief business officer for sports revenue SMB & creator Ishan Chatterjee said, “Cricket in India is no longer just a national obsession, it’s a global advertising stage. We’re seeing international brands increasingly turn to JioStar as a gateway to scale, status, and cultural relevance. These partnerships go beyond awareness; they’re delivering real business outcomes, from lead generation to brand affinity in one of the world’s most dynamic markets.”

    Danube Properties founder and chairman Rizwan Sajan said, “Danube Properties is thrilled to partner with Star Sports this year on the Tata IPL. India is one of the biggest markets for Danube Properties, and there isn’t a better medium than Star Sports and the Tata IPL to maximize our reach. The Tata IPL takes place during one of the busiest periods in our investment cycle for both commercial and residential properties and being able to reach that scale of high-net-worth individuals within just two months gives our business a significant boost. This association continues to be a key driver of investor interest, making it easier than ever to own a property in Dubai. It has been a truly impactful association, and we look forward to even greater success ahead.”

    Danube’s campaign is cleverly timed with one of their busiest investment cycles, tapping into IPL’s ability to deliver scale within just a few weeks.

    India’s evolution into a premium consumption hub has turbocharged this trend. It’s now one of the top five global source markets for airlines, a significant base of NRI property buyers, and a high-spending outbound tourism segment. For global brands, India is not just a pit stop, it’s the prize.

    And as JioStar transforms cricket coverage into a blend of sports and sophisticated storytelling, it’s offering more than just visibility,  it’s delivering leads, loyalty, and legacy. In the grand theatre of the IPL, it’s not just sixes that soar, so do global ambitions.

  • Women cricket anchors dazzle this IPL season with diamond flair

    Women cricket anchors dazzle this IPL season with diamond flair

    MUMBAI: Cricket may be about bat, ball, and brilliance but this IPL season, there’s another element lighting up screens: bling. As the Tata IPL 2025 sets stadiums ablaze, India’s top women cricket anchors are stepping into the spotlight with more than just stats and sharp commentary they’re shimmering in natural diamonds.

    In a first-of-its-kind partnership, De Beers Group has joined forces with Star Sports and JioHotstar to add sparkle to the studio. Eleven celebrated presenters from across feeds are donning exquisite diamond jewellery during match broadcasts proving that cricket and couture can go hand-in-hand.

    From layered bangles to cocktail rings and statement neckpieces, the diamonds are not just accessories, they’re part of the performance. Whether delivering power plays or pre-match predictions, the anchors are bringing glam to the game, fusing cricket’s high energy with the poise of polished elegance.

    But the shine doesn’t stop there. The partnership has also rolled out a new segment, Real Diamonds of the Week, spotlighting cricketers whose on-field feats echo the qualities of a diamond resilience, brilliance, and timeless appeal. It’s a sparkling tribute that swaps the traditional ‘player of the match’ with something a little more radiant.

    De Beers Group SVP Shweta Harit said, “Cricket and natural diamonds both embody authenticity, excellence and a lasting legacy. Just as the game unites fans across regions and generations, natural diamonds symbolize connections that stand the test of time. This collaboration brings the brilliance of the sport and the timeless allure of diamonds together, making every moment on screen even more memorable.”

    JioStar chief business officer for sports revenue and SMB & creator Ishan Chatterjee,  said, “With record-breaking viewership marking the opening weekend of Tata IPL 2025, cricket continues to unite audiences like never before. This collaboration between De Beers Group and India’s leading women anchors adds brilliance to the game, blending its precision and passion with the timeless elegance of natural diamonds. Just as cricketing icons leave an indelible mark on the field, these presenters shape the narrative with confidence and style, making every moment even more unforgettable.”

    It’s a rare match where sport and sparkle share the screen but one that’s clearly hitting it out of the park. In a league obsessed with sixes, this glittering collaboration is a stylish seventh.

  • ICC Champions Trophy 2025 smashes viewership records in India

    ICC Champions Trophy 2025 smashes viewership records in India

    MUMBAI: The ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 has knocked previous cricket viewership records for six, becoming the most-watched multi-nation cricket tournament ever in India, the ICC declared in a press release issued on 21 March. The eight-team competition outpaced the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 by a whopping 23 per cent in TV ratings.

    Indians devoured an eye-watering 250 billion minutes of cricket action across platforms during the tournament, with 137 billion minutes consumed on Star Sports and another 110 billion minutes on JioHotstar.

    The India-New Zealand final played in Dubai on 9 March drew an extraordinary peak concurrency of 122 million live viewers on television and 61 million on JioHotstar—the highest digital viewership ever recorded for cricket. The match became the second-highest rated ODI in TV history outside of World Cup matches, with 230 million viewers tuning in and 53 billion minutes of watch-time across all platforms.

    “The Champions Trophy made an amazing return after eight years and the viewership numbers from India have been overwhelming,” said an over-the-moon ICC chairman Jay Shah. “The incredible figures highlight the mass appeal that cricket has in India and how taking ICC events to audiences in different languages can significantly boost fan engagement.”

    The group stage encounter between arch-rivals India and Pakistan—cricket’s equivalent of a bare-knuckle brawl—became one of the most-watched ODI matches in Indian history. The match clocked over 26 billion minutes of watch-time on linear TV, besting the countries’ 2023 World Cup clash by 10.8 per cent.

    The Dubai contest on 23 February, which saw India maintain their hex over Pakistan in ICC tournaments thanks to Virat Kohli’s heroics, was watched by a staggering 206 million people on linear TV.

    Jio Star  chief executive for sports Sanjog Gupta couldn’t resist a bit of corporate chest-thumping: “This accomplishment is a result of the combined strength of the widest, most deeply penetrated multi-platform destination for sports, the fan-focussed story-telling approach of the JioStar ‘mega-casts’ and our superior technological capabilities.”

    The extraordinary viewership was bolstered by rights holders JioStar’s comprehensive coverage strategy. Matches were broadcast in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada on Star Sports and Sports 18 channels.

    On digital platforms, the tournament was streamed across a record 16 feeds, including nine languages—English, Hindi, Marathi, Haryanvi, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada—plus four multi-cam feeds, an Indian Sign Language feed and the Max View feed on JioHotstar.

    India’s unbeaten run to the trophy certainly didn’t hurt viewing figures, with fans glued to screens throughout the tournament. The marketing campaign, targeting “differentiated audience segments with distinct persuasions across devices,” appears to have hit the sweet spot of the bat.

    For advertisers who paid top rupee for spots during the tournament, the unprecedented viewership must feel like money well spent. For Indian cricket fans, it was simply another opportunity to indulge their national obsession—albeit in greater numbers than ever before.