Sports
UPKL Season 2 TV reach surges 120 per cent to 40 Million
State kabaddi league doubles viewership with Zee broadcast boost
NOIDA: The raiders were not the only ones making swift moves this season. Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi League, organised by SJ Uplift Kabaddi, has clocked a 120 per cent surge in television reach for Season 2, underlining the rising appetite for regional sporting leagues across India.
Broadcast exclusively by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, the league was telecast live in Hindi and English on Zee Anmol Cinema 2 and &Pictures HD, expanding its footprint across households nationwide. Hosted at the Noida Indoor Stadium, Season 2 delivered a cumulative reach of 40 million viewers aged 2 and above, compared with 18.2 million in Season 1.
The Average Minute Audience rose sharply to 90.8, up from 49 in the inaugural season, signalling deeper engagement and stronger stickiness for the state-based league format.
“Season 2 marked an important step forward in UPKL’s journey,” said SJ Uplift Kabaddi founder and director Sambhav Jain. “Our focus has been on building a professionally structured league that strengthens regional development and creates sustainable pathways for kabaddi talent. We are grateful to the team at Zee Sports for their support and look forward to a long-standing partnership.”
Organised by SJ Uplift Kabaddi Pvt. Ltd. in association with the Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi Association, the league continues to position itself as a grassroots-to-professional platform. Season 2 featured 66 live matches, up from 55 in Season 1, offering fans more mat time and more local rivalries.
The competition also expanded its roster with four new teams: Kanpur Warriors, Aligarh Tigers, Purvanchal Panthers and Gazab Ghaziabad, taking the tally to 12 franchises. Actor Tusshar Kapoor joined as co-owner of the Gazab Ghaziabad franchise, adding a touch of star power to the sporting spectacle.
The season, which kicked off on 25 December 2025, culminated on 10 January 2026 with Kashi Kings lifting the trophy, capping off a fortnight that proved regional kabaddi is no longer playing a supporting role. It is firmly in the spotlight.
Sports
JioStar terminates Bangladesh IPL and WPL broadcast rights deals
Payment defaults lead to licence cancellations and potential legal action.
MUMBAI: When the money stops flowing in cricket’s biggest cash cow, even the sub-licence holders can find themselves suddenly bowled out. JioStar India Private Limited has terminated its Bangladesh sub-licence agreements for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women’s Premier League (WPL) after the counterparty, Excel Lead IT Solutions FZ-LLC (holding company of broadcaster T-Sports), failed to clear outstanding dues.
The agreements, originally signed with Viacom18 (now part of JioStar) and later novated to Excel Lead, covered digital media rights for the IPL and WPL in Bangladesh for the 2023–27 seasons. In early January 2026, JioStar issued a demand notice for unpaid amounts related to the IPL 2025 and WPL 2025 seasons. Despite providing full access to matches and allowing complete commercial exploitation, the dues remained unpaid even after the cure period expired.
As a result, all licensed rights have automatically reverted to JioStar. The company has demanded immediate payment of all outstanding dues along with overdue interest and costs, and has instructed Excel Lead (T-Sports) to immediately cease any broadcast, streaming, promotion or exploitation of the rights in Bangladesh. Any continued use would constitute unauthorised exploitation.
JioStar is also considering legal proceedings, including interim and injunctive relief, to protect the commercial value of these high-profile cricket properties.
In a separate development, JioStar has invoked arbitration against Green Bean Sports Marketing (an affiliate of Gazi TV Bangladesh) over a sublicensing agreement for IPL television media rights in Bangladesh for the 2023–27 seasons. The agreement was terminated in January 2025 due to contractual breaches and payment issues.
Industry sources say JioStar remains confident in the judicial process and is determined to recover all outstanding amounts, including interest and litigation costs, in full.
The developments highlight a growing zero-tolerance approach by rights holders towards payment defaults and unauthorised exploitation in South Asia’s lucrative sports media market, where marquee cricket properties continue to command premium valuations.
In the high-stakes game of cricket broadcasting, it seems JioStar has decided that when payments don’t come, the game stops and the rights go back to the rightful owner.
