The economics of IPL 2025: How JioHotstar plans to win with bundling

Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel subscribers will continue to enjoy free access to IPL 2025 streaming as part of their bundled telecom plans. For other viewers, access to the tournament will now require a paid subscription, marking a significant shift in the digital broadcasting model of the IPL.

While the paywall marks a change in access, bundling with telecom operators ensures that a large chunk of viewers can still enjoy the tournament without incurring additional costs.

The digital viewership of the first 3 matches of IPL 2025 was 40% higher than last season, fueled by a 54% surge in CTV consumption, the platform said. Numbers suggest IPL 2024 was a blockbuster too, raking in over USD 16 billion in revenue. With this record, JioHotar is further eyeing Rs 4,500 crore in ad revenue as it secured 32 sponsors this season.

Despite the paywall, digital viewership numbers are off to a strong start. The first three matches of IPL 2025 witnessed a 40% jump in viewership compared to last season, fueled by a remarkable 54% surge in connected TV (CTV) consumption. In 2024, the tournament raked in over USD 16 billion in revenue, and this year, JioHotstar is eyeing Rs 4,500 crore in ad revenue alone, having secured 32 sponsors.

While the paywall is a new addition, some industry experts believe it is more of a strategic realignment than a disruption. “IPL viewership was always monetized,” said Prasun Kumar, Chief Marketing Officer at Magicbricks.

“Whether you were accessing it through a DTH connection or an optical fiber connection, you were always paying for it. So, the monetization is nothing new.” His perspective underscores the fact that while the mode of payment might be shifting, the fundamental economics of IPL broadcasting remain intact.

Beyond just direct revenue generation, the move also plays into broader platform strategies. Preetham Venkky, Chief Digital Officer at DDB Mudra Group, pointed out that this shift is likely designed to increase ‘time spent’ on the platform—a crucial metric for advertisers. More time spent means better engagement, which, in turn, strengthens JioHotstar’s value proposition for brands.

However, not everyone is convinced that this transition will be seamless. Siddharth Dabhade, Chief Business Officer at Lemma, acknowledged that while bundling telecom subscriptions with IPL access could help mitigate losses, there is an inherent risk. “The reason why IPL viewership grew to such levels on the platform was because it was absolutely free and execution was great. There is a potential risk that price-sensitive consumers will drop off.”

That said, telecom bundling could act as a cushion, ensuring continued access for a significant portion of the audience, especially in mobile-first markets like India.

Can bundling keep IPL’s growth streak alive?

JioHotstar, which is in talks with Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vi to bundle subscriptions with their data plans, aims to reach over a billion viewers and drive massive data consumption, even with the new paywall in place.

JioCinema pulled in 620 million viewers in 2024, witnessing a 38% surge from 449 million in the previous season. But will this momentum continue in 2025, or will paid streaming cause a drop in viewership?

Telecom bundling could be the answer. By offering IPL access as part of data plans, JioHotstar aims to soften the impact of its paywall and sustain cricket’s digital dominance.

Sunitha Natarajan, Director - Digital Strategy, Social Panga, feels that this bundling strategy may only partially mitigate the fallout. “While this move helps incentivize customers to subscribe to their services, I do not think it is enough to offset the loss of viewership and revenue drastically.”

However, in a fragmented digital ecosystem, even partial mitigation could still represent a win, especially when paired with strong platform performance metrics.

Karan Kumar, CMO of Hero Realty, also weighed in on the challenges associated with this shift, stating, "It gives you enough and more options to amplify your reach theoretically, but by adding these kinds of walls, you're just slowing down the process.”

Yet for brands with long-term visibility goals and campaign planning cycles, this could present an opportunity to recalibrate rather than retreat.

Especially for brands relying on tactical or contextual marketing, longer lead times can be a challenge. However, if campaigns are planned in advance as part of regular strategy, some of these bottlenecks can be mitigated.

Prasun further added that bundling IPL access with telecom services allows JioHotstar to unlock new value without disrupting the consumer experience. From a marketer’s perspective, it’s a logical way to maintain scale and engagement while tapping into a pre-existing payment ecosystem.

Bundling with telecom providers also presents another monetization avenue. “From a viewer point of view, it doesn’t change much—whether you’re paying your telecom operator or JioHotstar directly, ultimately, you are going to pay,” the Magicbricks executive said.

Venkky emphasized that these bundles are designed to eliminate the friction of mobile data costs for viewers, especially those without existing Hotstar subscriptions. “You’ve got some limited data, right? If you're trying to watch IPL live, then you're obviously busting up your data,” he said. Bundled access allows users to stream IPL without it counting toward their personal data cap, making it easier to engage for longer periods.

This strategy mirrors what telcos have done in the past with platforms like YouTube and Spotify, leveraging bandwidth allocation to drive consumption. “It’s been done forever... It’s borrowed from years of cloud telecommunication,” he explained.

What about the mass advertisers?

Another big question arises—how will advertisers react? IPL’s free streaming model made it a goldmine for mass-market brands that relied on Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) to reach millions. With IPL moving behind a paywall, these brands may reassess their ad budgets.

Venkky pointed out that bundling doesn’t fundamentally change brand preferences, but it can lead to higher engagement and more continuous viewership—moving from five-minute bursts to longer sessions of 15 minutes or more.

While bundles don't inherently benefit advertisers in a direct way, they create a more fertile environment for ad exposure by reducing viewer drop-off. “It’s in the service of increasing viewership minutes... It doesn’t affect brands in any way [directly],” said Venkky. He added that this is especially important for brands targeting digitally savvy, high-consideration buyers, such as those in the automotive sector. For them, digital is the primary channel, and longer viewing sessions enhance the chance for cohort-based targeting.

Dabhade added that this shift could negatively impact mass-market brands. While mobile advertising may not be affected significantly, CTV advertising could see a slowdown.

Natarajan echoed this sentiment, suggesting that mass-market brands may need to reassess their advertising strategies to effectively reach a more engaged but potentially smaller audience. “While mobile advertising may benefit from this shift, TV/CTV advertising will still play a big role, especially for brands focused on reach and frequency. Advertisers will need to optimize their efforts across platforms, considering factors like audience demographics, engagement, and ROI,” she said.

Karan agrees too. “While traditional campaign planning may benefit from a larger in-house audience, anything that relies on real-time execution will suffer. This shift will likely boost mobile advertising, but at the same time, negatively impact TV and CTV advertising.”

A marketer from a leading consumer electronics retailer shared a different perspective, emphasizing that brands have multiple touch points beyond JioHotstar. “It doesn’t matter much to us about the paywall since we don’t directly advertise on CTV, but we do offers, sales, and other IPL-based campaigns on other mediums, which are much cheaper and offer a wider reach,” they said.

At a broader level, an anonymous digital marketer raised concerns about the overall advertising environment during this IPL season. “If you notice advertising on OTT right now for IPL, most of it is from what one could call ‘vices advertisers’—fantasy cricket, flash gambling, and pan masala,” they said, estimating that 50–60% of the ad inventory is filled by these segments.

Others argue that this might be a phase in the sponsorship cycle, and as the season progresses, more mainstream advertisers could enter the fray.

This, they argued, is a reflection of low consumer sentiment and a lack of participation from mainstream consumer brands. “It’s a sign that others are not spending money,” the marketer said, noting that brands are leaning into discounts and promotions instead of large ad spends due to market stagnation.

As the 2025 season kicks off, all eyes are on JioHotstar’s bold new strategy and its impact on fans and advertisers. Its success or failure could reshape IPL’s digital viewership landscape, making this a high-stakes ‘wait and watch’ moment.

Whether this signals a new chapter in premium content distribution or a temporary shift, the IPL remains a crucial testing ground for India’s evolving digital monetization playbook.

e4m reached out to JioStar for an official response on the story, but is yet to get one.