JioStar unveils festive playbook as consumer spending set to rise 46 per cent

MUMBAI: With festive spending in India expected to rise sharply this year, JioStar has launched its Festive Playbook #HarGharMeinJashn, bringing together television, premium entertainment, streaming and commerce-led solutions to help brands navigate consumers’ journey from discovery to purchase.

According to the JioStar Festive Sentiment Survey 2026, the average festive transaction size is expected to increase 46 per cent, from Rs 16,500 to Rs 24,020. The survey also found that 68 per cent of consumers begin planning their festive purchases more than a month in advance, while 49 per cent of category buyers are still researching before selecting a brand.

JioStar said the findings point to a longer opportunity for brands, with festive marketing extending beyond the point of purchase to cover awareness, consideration and conversion.

JioStar’s entertainment television network delivers more than 680 billion viewing minutes, with primetime viewership rising 30 per cent during the festive period, according to the company’s cited data.

The network claims audiences spend 50 per cent more time with its content than on user-generated content platforms, while attention scores are up to 33 per cent higher. The network also delivers 44 per cent unique reach and around twice the search incidence of videos on UGC platforms.

JioStar entertainment sales, TV head Mahesh Shetty said the company’s festive strategy is built around consumers spending more time with premium content and the resulting opportunities for brands to drive search, consideration and sales.

JioHotstar forms the digital layer of JioStar’s festive proposition, with the company claiming 50-80 per cent incremental reach on connected TV and 50-90 per cent on mobile compared with the leading UGC platform.

JioStar’s data also indicates that campaigns on JioHotstar deliver twice the effectiveness across business metrics compared with the leading UGC platform on CTV. Audiences exposed to JioHotstar campaigns have also recorded 2.2 times higher add-to-cart rates than UGC-exposed audiences.

JioStar entertainment sales, digital head Bhaskar Ramesh said the festive period represents a key window for advertisers as consumer purchase intent rises, with JioHotstar combining premium content with commerce-led solutions across the purchase journey.

The festive content line-up includes non-fiction properties such as Bigg Boss across six languages, India Ke Top 1%, Koffee with Karan, Roadies, Dhamaal with Pati Patni Aur Panga and Cooku with Comali.

The film slate includes Dhurandhar The Revenge, Welcome to the Jungle, Drishyam 3 in Malayalam and Blast. JioHotstar will also premiere more than 15 South specials during the festive period, including Kaapi Squad, Part-Timers and The Court.

The playbook combines this content slate with advertising formats designed to move audiences through different stages of the purchase journey.

The company said TV-only audiences recorded nearly twice the search incidence index of the UGC digital-video-only benchmark across male- and female-focused categories.

JioStar also said its TV viewers over-index as category buyers, with affluent audiences delivering up to 1.6 times more fabric-care buyers, 1.5 times more hair-styling buyers and 1.43 times more ready-to-eat food buyers compared with UGC audiences.

Its Megablast format recorded more than 450 crore views and 365 million daily viewers, while previous campaigns generated around 1.5 times higher search interest and twice the growth in app downloads, according to the company’s data.

On JioHotstar, JioStar said audiences spend six times longer per session and are 2.8 times more likely to complete content than on the leading UGC platform. Its Launchpad format has also delivered a 1.4 times uplift in aided awareness and a 1.42 times uplift in purchase intent for a leading e-commerce platform.

With #HarGharMeinJashn, JioStar is positioning the festive season as an extended marketing window, combining the reach of television with digital engagement and commerce-led tools to help brands connect with consumers through discovery, consideration and purchase.