iWorld
JioHotstar bowls over digital world with Champions Trophy final streaming record
MUMBAI: JioHotstar has smashed the cricket ball clean out of the stadium with eye-popping viewership figures during India’s Champions Trophy final victory against New Zealand, giving Netflix’s boxing blockbuster a run for its money.
The streaming giant registered a colossal 61 million concurrent viewers at its peak as cricket-obsessed fans piled onto the platform to witness India’s crowning moment. Total reach rocketed to a mind-boggling 182 million, with an astronomical 900.2 million views altogether.
These staggering statistics narrowly trail Netflix’s boxing extravaganza featuring Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which drew 65 million peak concurrent viewers globally and 38 million in the US. However, cricket enthusiasts certainly weren’t on the back foot with their passionate support.
JioHotstar’s record-breaking performance demolishes the previous high of 59 million concurrent viewers set during the 2023 Cricket World Cup final by predecessor Hotstar, showing just how far the digital heavyweight has come.
“The subcontinent was absolutely stumped by Team India’s magnificent display,” remarked an OTT technology expert. “JioHotstar’s platform faced a tsunami of viewers but never dropped a catch.”
The India-Pakistan group stage clash proved particularly lucrative, notching up a whopping 602 million streaming views on JioHotstar. Meanwhile, on traditional television, Star Sports registered 206 million viewers tuning in – amassing over 26.1 billion total viewing minutes, an 11 percent jump from their 2023 World Cup encounter.
The #CTonJioHotstar campaign delivered a perfect yorker, connecting millions of fervent supporters to every boundary and wicket as India’s cricketing heroes lifted the trophy.
This viewership milestone cements JioHotstar’s position as the undisputed champion of India’s streaming landscape – the team there is not merely participating in digital entertainment’s premier league, it is writing the record books.
e-commerce
Visa report tracks rise of India’s affluent, experience-led spending
Affluent base doubles to 130 lakh, travel 58 per cent of elite spends.
MUMBAI: In India’s new luxury playbook, it’s less about owning more and more about living better. A new whitepaper by Visa Consulting and Analytics (VCA) maps a decisive shift in India’s affluent economy, where spending is becoming more intentional, experience-led, and closely tied to personal identity rather than pure income growth.
Titled India’s Affluent Economy 2025–2026, the report draws on a Visa-commissioned Yougov study and VisaNet data across travel, dining, retail and lifestyle categories. The headline number is hard to miss: individuals earning over Rs 10 lakh annually have nearly doubled from 69 lakh to 130 lakh, significantly expanding the country’s discretionary spending base.
But it’s not just about scale, it’s about behaviour. As consumers move up the affluence ladder, discretionary categories are taking a larger share of credit card spends, positioning cards as key enablers of premium, lifestyle-driven consumption.
The geography of wealth is shifting too. Affluence is no longer confined to metros such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, with cities like Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur and Lucknow increasingly mirroring metro consumption patterns.
The report highlights a clear pivot from ownership to access. More than 50 per cent of affluent consumers now use cards for elite memberships, while 7 in 10 are drawn to limited-edition drops and curated collections. Increasingly, luxury is defined by seamless access be it concierge-led travel or curated dining where time saved is as valuable as money spent.
Spending patterns reinforce this shift. Among the ultra-elite, travel accounts for 58 per cent of discretionary spends, far outpacing retail and luxury combined at 28 per cent. Cross-border spending penetration stands at 63 per cent, signalling a growing global outlook among India’s affluent.
Closer home, indulgence is becoming routine. Nearly 4 in 5 affluent consumers dine at premium establishments at least three times a year, while 1 in 4 visit luxury venues more than five times annually. Dining spends are also climbing, with Rs 20,000 emerging as a new entry-level benchmark per experience and Rs 50,000 marking premium territory.
Retail, meanwhile, is becoming more selective. Three in four affluent consumers make a high-end purchase at least once a quarter, while one in four shops premium every two weeks. Luxury retail intensity is also rising, with 2 in 5 consumers spending over Rs 5 lakh annually, and a smaller but significant segment exceeding Rs 10 lakh.
Technology and wellness are carving out new roles in this ecosystem. High-end gadgets now see average spends of Rs 60,000 or more per purchase, while ultra-elite consumers are eight times more likely to visit spas and show five times higher engagement with cosmetic stores than non-affluent groups.
The broader takeaway is structural. Affluent consumers are no longer buying products, they are buying ecosystems. Integrated experiences across travel, dining, wellness and payments are becoming central to how this segment lives and spends.
As India’s affluent base expands beyond metros and aligns more closely with global consumption patterns, the real opportunity lies not just in size, but in speed. For brands, the message is clear: relevance will be defined by how early and how seamlessly, they plug into this evolving lifestyle economy.
