JioStar, the company formed after the merger of Reliance’s media business and the India unit of Walt Disney, announced its financial results on Friday. The company reported gross revenue of Rs 10,006 crore and pre-tax earnings of Rs 774 crore for the latest quarter.
Revenue from operations stood at Rs 9,497 crore. The company posted an EBITDA margin of 3%, amounting to Rs 266 crore, and profit before tax came in at Rs 243 crore. One of the biggest highlights from the results was the strong growth of JioHotstar, the new streaming platform created after the merger of JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar on February 14, 2025. According to Reliance Industries’ earnings statement, JioHotstar crossed 100 million paid subscribers within just five weeks of its launch.
“JioHotstar served 503 million MAUs (monthly active users) in the month of Mar ’25, driven by key sporting events such as the ICC Champions Trophy, IPL and India’s largest digital content library of greater than 320K hours,” Reliance Industries said.
JioStar’s linear TV business also made significant gains. The company said it now holds a 34% market share across the TV entertainment segment and reaches more than 760 million viewers monthly across India.
The merger deal that led to the creation of JioStar was announced on November 14, 2024. It combined the TV and digital platforms of Reliance Industries, Walt Disney Company, and Viacom18 Media Private Limited, creating one of the largest media networks in India. The new entity secured exclusive TV and digital rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and several other major cricket tournaments. This advantage has given JioStar a strong head start in 2025.
According to the company, IPL 2025 delivered its biggest-ever opening weekend, recording 1.4 billion digital views a 35% growth year-on-year. TV reach touched 253 million viewers, marking a 14% growth, while the combined watch time across TV and digital reached 49.6 billion minutes, a 33% year-on-year rise. The first week of IPL 2025 on JioHotstar alone saw a 38% jump in viewership, driven by a 47% increase in TV video viewers and a 46% rise in total watch time. JioStar also hosted several major sports events besides the IPL, including the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy, the India vs England ODI and T20 series, the Women’s Premier League (WPL), and the Indian Super League (ISL).
“ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was the highest-rated multi-nation cricket tournament ever in India after its blockbuster final. The event delivered a 4.3 TVR, 23% higher than ICC ODI World Cup 2023 and shattered previous peak concurrency records, reaching an all-time high of 61.2 million viewers,” Reliance Industries said.
In a move to strengthen its sports broadcasting business, JioStar consolidated all its sports channels under the Star Sports banner. Now, the Star Sports Network runs 24 channels, including two dedicated sports channels each in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada languages. In the entertainment segment, JioStar’s Star Plus retained its top spot among Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs), with six of the top ten shows on TV.
Its regional channels also performed consistently across different language markets. “Star Pravah, Star Jalsha, Star Maa, Star Vijay and Asianet continued to be No. 1 entertainment channels in their respective markets,” Reliance Industries said.
With strong performances across its streaming, sports, and TV businesses, JioStar appears to have started 2025 on a strong note. The company is betting heavily on its combined media assets to capture a growing share of India’s rapidly expanding digital and television audiences.