Sports
JioStar’s Ishan Chatterjee says India is now the world’s live sports broadcasting lab
Ishan Chatterjee highlights record viewership, AI personalisation and seamless commerce as key drivers of the revolution.
MUMBAI: India isn’t just watching the game, it’s rewriting the rules of how the world experiences live sports. Speaking at the SVG India Summit 2026, Ishan Chatterjee, CEO – Sports, JioStar, declared that India has become the epicentre of innovation in global sports broadcasting, powered by massive scale and deep consumer engagement. Chatterjee cited staggering numbers to back his claim. The IPL reached over one billion screens last season, while JioHotstar set a global digital record with 72.5 million concurrent viewers during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Final.
“Live sports has emerged as one of the only mediums that can aggregate consumers at this scale,” he said. “Reaching 72.5 million people at once raises a bigger question: what do you do with that attention? Scale without relevance is just reach.”
He traced the evolution of sports broadcasting from one-way, ‘one size fits all’ broadcasts to highly personalised experiences. Thanks to digital streaming, fans now enjoy content in multiple languages, varied camera angles, and custom feeds. Regional language watch-time has grown 2X in the last year, with Bhojpuri and Haryanvi feeds surging 3X.
Looking ahead, Chatterjee pointed to artificial intelligence as the next big leap moving from cohort-based personalisation to truly individual experiences. JioStar has already integrated multilingual conversational AI and voice search, allowing fans to ask questions like “What is Dhoni’s strike rate in finals?” in Hindi and receive instant answers without leaving the live stream.
The platform is also blurring the lines between viewing and commerce. Through its integration with Swiggy, viewers can order food directly within the JioHotstar app, turning intent into instant transactions without interrupting the match.
Chatterjee concluded by calling for greater collaboration across the industry, stating that India is no longer a market of the future, it is already shaping the present and future of sports broadcasting worldwide.
