iWorld
India vs Pakistan viewership on JioHotstar surpasses T20 World Cup 2024 final
Digital reach hit 163 million, beating the 2024 final; up 56 per cent year on year
MUMBAI: The India–Pakistan group-stage clash at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 has rewritten viewership records, becoming the most-watched ICC T20 match in digital history.
Broadcast and streamed by JioStar on JioHotstar, the match drew a digital reach of 163 million, surpassing even the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 final. Digital reach rose 56 per cent compared with the previous India–Pakistan encounter at the 2024 edition.
On mobile devices, the fixture recorded the highest league-stage reach of any ICC T20 event, clocking 1.2 times the audience of the last India–Pakistan clash. Connected TV viewership surged even more sharply, delivering a reach 2.4 times higher than the same fixture in 2024.
Across platforms, the match generated more than 20 billion minutes of watch time, a 42 per cent jump over the previous edition. India’s emphatic win, which extended its head-to-head record against Pakistan at T20 World Cups to 8–1, helped sustain viewing through the contest.
Linear television also delivered. The broadcast registered a 71 per cent rise in ratings, making it the highest-rated India–Pakistan T20 match since 2021 and underlining the continued pull of appointment viewing for marquee sporting events.
With associate nations adding competitive edge, cumulative digital reach for the tournament has already overtaken that of the entire 2024 edition at the same stage. India, meanwhile, has secured qualification for the Super 8s beginning 21 February, as the defending champions push for a second consecutive T20 title.
JioStar head of sales for sports Anup Govindan, said the scale of engagement reflected the unmatched pull of the India–Pakistan rivalry across platforms. JioStar head of sports content Siddharth Sharma, added that the numbers underscored India’s deep-rooted obsession with the T20 World Cup and the appetite for immersive, multi-format coverage.
iWorld
Netflix cuts jobs in product division amid restructuring
Layoffs hit creative studio unit as leadership and strategy shifts unfold.
MUMBAI: The streaming wars may be fought on screen, but the latest plot twist is unfolding behind the scenes. Netflix has reportedly begun laying off several dozen employees from its product division as part of an internal reorganisation, according to a report by Variety. The cuts are believed to have primarily affected the company’s creative studio unit, which works on marketing assets such as in app trailers, promotional visuals and live experience content for the streaming platform.
The company has not disclosed the exact number of employees impacted.
According to the report, the layoffs were not tied to employee performance. Instead, the restructuring eliminated certain roles while other employees were reassigned to different teams within the organisation.
The roles affected are understood to include designers, producers and creative specialists responsible for marketing and brand experience initiatives.
The job cuts come as Netflix adjusts its leadership structure and reshapes its product and creative teams. Last month, Elizabeth Stone was promoted from chief technology officer to chief product and technology officer, giving her oversight of product, engineering and data operations across the company.
Earlier, in December 2025, Netflix also appointed Martin Rose as head of creative for global brand and partnerships, a move seen as part of a broader restructuring of the company’s brand and product functions.
Despite the layoffs, Netflix remains one of the largest employers in the streaming sector. The company is estimated to employ around 16,000 people globally, with roughly 70 percent of its workforce based in the United States and Canada. In 2023, the company reported approximately 13,000 employees, indicating that its headcount had grown significantly before the latest restructuring.
The workforce changes arrive at a time when Netflix is navigating a shifting financial and strategic landscape in the global entertainment industry.
The streaming giant recently secured $2.8 billion in additional cash after receiving a breakup fee from Paramount Skydance following its withdrawal from a deal involving Warner Bros. Discovery.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Netflix co chief executive Ted Sarandos explained that the company had evaluated multiple scenarios during the negotiations but chose not to match the competing offer once it learned that a higher bid had been submitted.
Netflix had capped its offer at $27.75 per share and ultimately stepped back rather than pursue Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition deal, which included a personal guarantee.
Sarandos also cautioned that the financing structure behind the Paramount Skydance transaction could have ripple effects across the entertainment industry.
According to him, the debt heavy deal could trigger significant cost cutting, with David Ellison, chief executive of Paramount Skydance, expected to eliminate about $16 billion in costs and potentially cut thousands of jobs as part of the integration process.
For Netflix, the current restructuring appears to be part of a broader attempt to streamline operations while continuing to invest in product, technology and global content even as the streaming industry enters a new phase of consolidation and financial discipline.
