iWorld
OTT conversations to take centre stage at Vidnet 2018
MUMBAI: Indians have now warmed up to over-the-top media services making them even mainstream at times. In the last couple of years, the OTT industry has witnessed rapid growth thanks to several factors like cheaper data and affordable smartphones. Many new players are experimenting in this area leading to higher competition. From high-quality content to high-end technology, marketing OTT players are leaving no stone unturned to grab more eyeballs.
At a time when the industry is thriving, Indiantelevision.com is again bringing together all the stalwarts in the ecosystem on the stage of Vidnet 2018 at The St.Regis, Mumbai on 16 November. The experts from platforms, production studios, advertising agencies, data analyst firms, creators, technology and investors will discuss the state of the industry, address the issues and find solutions. ZEEL’s digital venture ZEE5 is the title sponsor of Vidnet 2018 and the event is powered by Verizon.
As the market is at the stage of development right now, there are several questions that need to be answered. The focus of the conference will be on these topics broadly – what could be the leanings from other countries like US, China and Japan; which business models will work out properly; what is the content trend in domestic and international market; how to increase user engagement; uniform data measurement metric; importance of data, AI, machine learning, cloud technology and how to combat piracy.
Amazon Prime Video India director and country general manager Gaurav Gandhi, Balaji Telefilms group CEO Sunil Lulla, Hulu Japan chief content officer Kazufumi Nagasawa, YouTube entertainment head Satya Raghavan, ZEE5 India CEO Tarun Katial along with many other experts will speak on the compelling issues chalking out the right direction in the ecosystem.
According to KPMG Media and Entertainment Report 2018, the industry with more than 30 players is expected to grow at a CAGR of 45 per cent to reach Rs 13,800 crore by the end of FY23. Till now advertising revenue is the dominant contributor in the market, subscription revenue is nonetheless expected to be about 33 per cent of the total revenue in the space by end of FY23.
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.
