iWorld
Airtel partners Bengali OTT platform Hoichoi
MUMBAI: Hoichoi, the over-the-top platform exclusively for Bengali content, has entered into a partnership with leading telco player Bharti Airtel. The former’s exclusive content will be available now on the Airtel TV app following the partnership.
Hoichoi’s library includes original shows as well as chartbuster movies. After completing one year since its launch, the company recently announced 30 original shows and 12 original films for the next one year. This entire originals catalogue will also come to Airtel TV.
“It gives us immense pleasure to announce this partnership with Bharti Airtel to offer complete digital entertainment experience to their customers. This will help us in extending our content distribution network through Airtel TV’s fast-growing user base,” Hoichoi co-founder Vishnu Mohta said.
Moreover, some of their original shows like Hello, Byomkesh, Dupur Thakurpo, Cartoon, Mismatch and Charitraheen are dubbed in Hindi and Tamil to reach out to a wider audience base. As the platform claims, two leading shows Hello and Byomkesh are also performing extremely well on the Airtel TV app.
“We are delighted to bring Hoichoi’s quality content to Airtel TV that will offer our Bengali users access to their favourite digital content in their local language, with a simple click of a button. With consumption of regional content going up significantly, we will continue to focus on adding diverse entertainment content to our kitty as we work towards building a world-class digital content ecosystem,” Bharti Airtel West Bengal and Orissa CEO Sameer Anjaria commented on the partnership.
iWorld
T20 World Cup ’26: India–England semi-final sets global streaming record of 619 million views on JioHotstar
India–England semi-final records 65.2 million peak streams
MUMBAI: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 set a new milestone in global sports streaming, as the India–England semi-final drew record digital audiences on JioHotstar.
The match on 5 March registered 65.2 million peak concurrent viewers, the highest ever recorded for a live event on any streaming platform worldwide. The semi-final also generated 619 million views, making it the most streamed T20 international match in history.
The landmark audience numbers were driven largely by viewers in India, setting a record achieved within a single market, rather than through aggregated viewership across multiple countries.
The high-scoring encounter between India national cricket team and England cricket team produced 499 runs across both innings, fuelling widespread fan engagement across platforms.
According to the International Cricket Council, the digital record surpassed the previous global benchmark of 65 million concurrent viewers, set in November 2024 by another international streaming platform.
Across television and digital platforms combined, the semi-final reached more than 320 million viewers, while total watch time exceeded 23 billion minutes, making it the most watched T20 international match ever.
“This World Cup demonstrates the immense passion of cricket fans and the progress made in bringing the game closer to audiences worldwide,” said ICC chairman Jay Shah.
“This moment reflects the scale of cricket fandom in India and the technological capability required to serve hundreds of millions of viewers simultaneously.”
JioStar vice-chairman Uday Shankar, said the audience surge underscored the future of large-scale digital entertainment.
“One in every three Indians tuned in to watch the second semi-final. Delivering such an experience at scale requires the very best of technology,” he said.
The 619 million views during the match also eclipsed the 533 million views recorded during the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.
With the final yet to be played, the 2026 tournament has already set multiple benchmarks in audience reach and digital engagement.
India will face the New Zealand national cricket team in the final on 8 March at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The match will be broadcast on the Star Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar.
