IPL 2026 Broadcast Rights: Star, JioHotstar Deal Explained

The IPL broadcast rights story is one of the biggest business moments in global sports media of the last five years. In 2022 the BCCI auctioned the 2023-27 cycle rights for more than INR 48,000 crore, the streaming rights went to Viacom18 for the first time, and the Indian sports media landscape was redrawn overnight. Since then a Viacom18-Disney Star merger has consolidated the rights under one roof as JioStar, with the streaming product branded JioHotstar. Here is what you need to know for IPL 2026.

The 2022 auction and what happened

The IPL media rights auction in June 2022 split the rights into four packages: Package A for Indian television, Package B for Indian digital, Package C for non-exclusive digital for high-demand matches, and Package D for overseas rights. Disney Star retained the Indian television rights. Viacom18 won the Indian digital rights in a landmark shift away from the Star-owned Hotstar product. The total value across packages was in excess of INR 48,000 crore, making the IPL the second most expensive sports property globally on a per-match basis, behind only the NFL.

For fans the immediate impact in 2023 was that IPL streaming moved to JioCinema while live TV remained on Star Sports. JioCinema streamed the 2023 and 2024 IPLs free on mobile and ad-supported at launch, which dramatically expanded the digital reach of the tournament.

The merger and JioHotstar rebrand

In 2024 the Reliance-controlled Viacom18 and Disney Star completed a merger that was approved by the Competition Commission of India with conditions. The combined entity operates as JioStar, with Reliance as majority owner and Disney as minority partner. The rebranded streaming service is JioHotstar, which went live in 2025 after merging JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar into a single app.

The result is that for IPL 2026, both the TV rights and the digital rights to the IPL are effectively under one corporate umbrella for the first time in the tournament's history. Star Sports carries the TV feed and JioHotstar carries the streaming feed.

What this means for fans

For Indian viewers, the fragmentation of 2023 and 2024 is gone. You can watch the IPL on TV via Star Sports or on mobile and connected TVs via JioHotstar, with a unified subscription that also covers ICC events under Disney Star's separate rights. Ad inventory is consolidated, which changes pricing and ad loads, and the product experience across devices is more integrated.

For overseas viewers the rights remain split across region-specific broadcasters such as Willow TV in the United States, Sky in the United Kingdom and Fox in Australia, as well as JioHotstar in select markets.

What this means for the BCCI and the franchises

The BCCI still collects the record 2023-27 rights payouts on schedule regardless of the merger. For the franchises, the bigger question is the 2028-32 cycle when the BCCI will go back to market. A consolidated JioStar is both the obvious top bidder and a single point of risk, which means the BCCI may tweak the package structure to preserve competition.

For sponsorship brands, the JioStar consolidation simplifies ad buying across TV and digital, which is expected to push overall IPL ad revenues upward rather than downward despite fewer bidders.

Outlook for the 2028-32 cycle

Expect the next IPL rights auction to test how far the market has grown. If digital continues to outpace TV in viewership growth, the BCCI may further unbundle digital from TV, and may separately carve out a shortform highlights package. International rights are likely to see a bigger upward jump than they did in 2022, as Indian cricket fans overseas continue to grow.

FAQ

Q: Who holds the IPL broadcast rights for 2026? A: Disney Star holds TV rights and Viacom18 holds digital rights for the 2023-27 cycle. Both companies now operate as one entity, JioStar, with streaming branded JioHotstar.

Q: What was the total value of the IPL 2023-27 rights? A: More than INR 48,000 crore across all packages in the June 2022 auction.

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