iWorld
Eros Now partners with EUROSTAR Group
MUMBAI: Eros Now, the cutting-edge digital over-the-top (OTT) South Asian entertainment platform owned by Eros International, a global Indian Entertainment Company, has announced its partnership with UAE-based digital retail giant, EUROSTAR Group. The association enables the large diaspora from the Indian sub-continent and locals across GCC countries to access Eros Now’s vast content library of more than 12,000 movies, music videos, original shows, short format content quickie and more.
The massive fan base of Indian entertainment content in the GCC markets can now take advantage of monthly and annual subscription packs of Eros Now from their nearest EUROSTAR-serviced retail outlet. The partnership promises to deliver entertainment and enhance customer convenience by offering seamless access to the premium OTT platform.
Expats from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt living in UAE and other GCC markets are massive fans of Indian entertainment, especially Bollywood movies and stars. Eros Now, apart from offering a huge Bollywood film catalogue, is also known as the one-stop destination for regional films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Gujarati, among other Indian languages. The Company’s direct-to-digital offerings, ground-breaking original shows and short-format content category, quickie, further encourages GCC market consumers to avail subscription from EUROSTAR retail outlets.
Eros Now chief executive officer Ali Hussein said, “We at Eros Now believe in constantly enhancing consumer experience and expand reach by partnering with relevant leading brands globally. The partnership with EUROSTAR is a testament to our endeavor in offering easy accessibility and unparalleled entertainment to the massive consumer base across GCC countries. We are confident that with a plethora of choices as well as regional languages to choose from, audiences in GCC will find there is no better place to go.”
EUROSTAR spokesperson and executive director Shaan Jethwani said, “We are happy to partner with India’s leading OTT platform Eros Now to offer their bouquet of content to our audience. The increasing demand for Indian entertainment content in GCC markets is the driving force behind this decision. With EUROSTAR’s legacy on Pay TV distribution, we envisage to deliver its vast entertainment content to a massive consumer base across GCC countries.”
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.
