India’s JioStar Hits $2 Billion Revenue With 400 Million Users
JioStar Reports Record Quarterly Earnings, Strong User Engagement
JioStar, the Indian media giant formed from the merger of Disney’s Star India and Reliance’s Viacom18, has announced impressive financial results for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The company reported record quarterly EBITDA of $196 million, with industry-leading margins of 28.1%.
With gross revenue of $815 million for Q2 FY26 and a profit after tax of $149 million, JioStar continues to demonstrate its strong financial performance. For the half year, the company generated revenue of $2.08 billion with EBITDA of $310 million, resulting in a margin of 17.5%.
JioHotstar, the platform’s streaming service, maintained an average of 400 million monthly active users during the quarter, showcasing robust user retention post-Indian Premier League. The platform’s success in engaging users post-IPL was attributed to its strong performance across both sports and entertainment content.
The India-England Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy became the most-watched Test series ever on a digital platform, attracting 170 million viewers and setting a new benchmark for cricket streaming services.
JioStar’s focus on personalization, seamless content discovery, and effective marketing strategies has led to improved user retention and higher engagement levels, as highlighted in the company’s results announcement.
With over 830 million viewers on television and more than 60 billion hours of watch time during the quarter, JioStar continues to strengthen its position in the TV entertainment space, increasing its viewership share by 30 basis points year-over-year to 34.5%.
On the sports front, JioHotstar saw significant growth during events like Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, setting new viewership records. Other key properties such as 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 revival of “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi,” delivering record-breaking viewership across TV and digital platforms, making it the biggest Hindi-language general entertainment channel fiction launch in the past five years.
Digital subscriptions continued to grow, supported by a curated content calendar and effective subscriber management. Shows like “Special Ops 2,” “Sarzameen,” and “Heart Beat 2” topped platform benchmarks and external ranking charts.
JioStar’s international content library saw strong performance with increased adoption of dubbed content in local languages, expanding audience reach and engagement.
The “Bigg Boss” franchise and the “Jolly LLB” film series continued to drive viewership growth, showcasing the platform’s diverse content offerings and audience appeal.
Looking back at the FY25 results, JioStar reported solid financial figures during the initial post-merger period, indicating a promising future for the media giant.
