iWorld
Moloco & Viacom18 forge multi-year partnership for ad serving on JioCinema
Mumbai: Moloco, a leader in operational machine learning (ML) and advertising technology, has announced a strategic partnership with Viacom18 and JioCinema in India. As part of this multi-year partnership, Moloco is using its advanced machine learning and ad serving capabilities to build a powerful monetization solution for Viacom18/JioCinema, and it began with the Tata IPL last year. The Tata Indian Premier League, featuring 74 matches, providing the ultimate opportunity for streaming media monetization, with advertisers reaching massive global audiences of engaged sports fans. Last year, 449 million cricket viewers watched Tata IPL on JioCinema from March to May 2023. Supported by the Moloco ad-serving technology, JioCinema served targeted ads to a peak concurrent viewership of 32M users.
Moloco streaming monetisation is an enterprise software solution that empowers streaming services to transform how they monetize content and media in order to unlock profitable growth. Moloco works with streaming platforms to maximize the value of each ad impression from price-driven decisioning to outcome optimization. The rise of streaming video globally coupled with the complexity of serving ads at live events makes this partnership an exciting opportunity to innovate, by delivering engaging ads and profitable advertiser ROI.
“As the streaming media industry continues to focus on monetization, we’re excited to partner with leading players such as JioCinema to develop their performance advertising engine,” said Moloco’s chief business officer Sunil Rayan. “We have leveraged Moloco’s deep experience in advertising technology over the last decade to build an ad serving solution for JioCinema that ensures stability at scale and improves user experience during peak times. Looking ahead to Tata IPL 2024, we anticipate an even bigger opportunity to engage millions of viewers while also creating measurable value for advertisers,” he added.
JioCinema CPTO Akash Saxena stated, “By using Moloco’s advanced algorithms and highly optimised ad serving infrastructure, we were able to deliver ads to 32M viewers concurrently during Tata IPL 2023 and offer new monetization opportunities to our advertisers.”
Speaking on the announcement, Moloco’s general manager for India Siddharth Jhawar said, “India’s 700 million digital population has shown a growing preference for consuming video content online. As streaming platforms scale and look for more monetization opportunities, Moloco Streaming Monetization can help them grow profitably.”
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.
