iWorld
Yupp TV gets $50 mn funding from KKR-backed Emerald Media
MUMBAI: It’s a sign of the confidence international private equity firms have in India’s one-billion plus mobile user base, the over the top (OTT) ecosystem and the appeal south Asian content can have worldwide.
The Chernin-KKR-Ailleo-Kamath backed Emerald Media yesterday announced that it was investing $50 million (Rs 334 crore) in the Uday Reddy-run internet pay TV platform Yupp TV and gaining a significant minority stake in the firm. The purpose of the fund-raising: expand the OTT service’s footprint globally, its content library through originals and acquisitions, and in the process ramp up its subscriber base.
Headquartered in Atlanta, Yupp TV offers a mix of live TV (more than 250 channels in 14 languages), TV shows, movies and videos with a focus on the US, UK, Middle East, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean. It has been making inroads in India too with an initial focus on the south Indian market, but has since been spreading nationally. The platform has more than 25,000 hours of entertainment content catalogued in its library, with nearly 5,000 hours of new on-demand content being added to it daily. It recently launched YuppFlix, its on-demand movie streaming service on the back of its 5,000 strong movie catalogue.
More than five million monthly visitors – peaking at 20 million – log on to the Yupp TV service using 27 integrated devices. The YuppTV app has had 10 million mobile downloads, 50 million Samsug TV and 300,000 LG Smart TV pre-installs globally. The app is also available for PS3 and PS4s.
Said YuppTV promoter & CEO Uday Reddy: “We couldn’t ask for a stronger partner than Emerald Media. YuppTV is a content distribution platform with a strong consumer connection, and Emerald Media has global media relationships. We hope to leverage their relationships and existing assets Endemol, OML, Fluence and Graphic India to create original programming and make this platform a next generation distribution and content powerhouse.”
Added Emerald Media managing director Rajesh Kamat: “Emerald Media believes in driving change and value-creation by providing a distinctive combination of capital, domain knowledge and management bandwidth. The world is moving from traditional consumption to multiscreen delivery mediums. YuppTV provides a unique combination of technology, strong content relationships and revenues of scale and will be an anchor to our vision of building a new age media company.”
Said Emerald Media managing director Paul Aiello: “Uday and his team have created an exceptional online video platform with a loyal subscriber base that realizes the huge potential of the global Indian diaspora. Our investment and relationship will enable YuppTV to further their strong leadership position in the rapidly growing OTT space.”
YuppTV will need all the financial muscle it can get. The Indian OTT and VOD space is just about beginning to warm up with the likes of Amazon keeping aside a war chest of around $300 million for its Prime Video service. Additionally, Netflix, Hotstar, SonyLiv, Ditto TV, Voot, Hooq, Viu, Spuul, and the soon to be launched Alt Balaji are all nurturing ambitious investments and plans to capture a piece of the Indian mobile consumer’s wallet.
Also read:
Hooq plans to invest $2 million on original Indian content
Challenges faced by the OTT players in India; the way ahead
iWorld
JioStar revenue hits Rs 9,784 crore as cricket fuels 22 per cent growth
A surge in digital viewership and sports dominance fuels a blockbuster quarter for the media giant
MUMBAI: JioStar is batting on a flat pitch. The media titan’s fourth-quarter results for the financial year 2026 reveal a business scaling new heights, propelled by an unprecedented appetite for premium sports and digital-first storytelling.
Gross revenue for the quarter soared by 22.15 per cent to Rs 9,784 crore, up from Rs 8,010 crore in the third quarter. Operationally, the momentum was equally strong; revenue from operations climbed 21 per cent to Rs 8,372 crore. These figures underscore the firm’s successful integration following the Reliance and Disney merger, creating a dominant force in the Indian market.
The annual performance has been nothing short of a spectacle. Full-year gross revenue reached a massive Rs 36,248 crore, while annual profit after tax hit Rs 3,210 crore. This rapid expansion reflects JioStar’s ability to capture and monetise the massive growth in India’s media consumption.
Cricket proved to be the ultimate growth engine. The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 and TATA IPL 2026 delivered “record-breaking viewership” across both television and digital screens. The World Cup final alone drew a global peak concurrency of 72.5 million on JioHotstar, cementing its status as the nation’s premier streaming destination. On television, JioStar maintained a commanding 34.2 per cent viewership share, reaching a staggering 810 million viewers nationwide.
The digital numbers were just as impressive. JioHotstar averaged 500 million monthly active users, driven by consistent subscriber growth and innovative AI-led content discovery tools. These advancements are ensuring that JioStar remains at the cutting edge of the global “Race for Attention.”
With a firm grip on the country’s most valuable sporting rights and a rapidly growing digital footprint, JioStar is perfectly positioned for the future. It has built the ultimate content powerhouse—one that is ready to dominate the Indian living room for years to come.
