JioHotstar reaches 440 million users as post-IPL growth holds

JioHotstar reported approximately 440 million monthly active users in Q2 FY27, 10% above a year earlier, as the platform added conversational discovery, food ordering across entertainment and launches in Singapore, the United Kingdom and Canada. The presentation also reported a 30% increase in subscriber base after the international relaunch.

How many users did JioHotstar have after IPL?

JioHotstar had approximately 440 million monthly active users, or MAUs, in Q2 FY27. That was 40 million above the 400 million MAUs reported for Q2 FY26, representing 10% year-on-year growth that the presentation attributed to new launches and curated content in the post-IPL season.

The Q2 FY27 figure shows audience growth outside the Indian Premier League period rather than only a marquee-event audience peak. The presentation links the 440 million MAUs to sports, entertainment and product changes, including content-discovery tools and commerce integration, but does not disclose MAUs by content genre or country.

How is JioHotstar seeking to retain viewers beyond live sport?

JioHotstar is seeking to retain users through conversational discovery and personalised content discovery. Its conversational feature helps viewers decide what to watch and answer questions while content is playing, while active users of the feature grew 75% sequentially in Q2 FY27.

The feature also works during viewing, according to the presentation. JioHotstar said conversational discovery now powers mid-watch queries on entertainment content, while its wider personalisation effort increased user stickiness; it did not provide a watch-time figure specifically attributable to conversational discovery.

Food ordering is the second engagement mechanism disclosed for Q2 FY27. JioHotstar said commerce had moved from trial to habit, with food delivery fully integrated across entertainment, embedding an ordering function within the entertainment experience.

The presentation does not report food-order volumes, merchant numbers, order frequency or commerce revenue. Its disclosed evidence is operational: integration was complete across entertainment in Q2 FY27, while the stated aim was to make commerce a repeat user behaviour rather than a limited experiment.

Where has JioHotstar launched internationally?

JioHotstar launched in Singapore, the United Kingdom and Canada during Q2 FY27. The three-market rollout was accompanied by a 30% increase in subscriber base after the relaunch, although the presentation does not state the starting subscriber number, measurement period or country-level split.

The overseas launch extends distribution alongside domestic product changes that supported the 440 million MAUs. Singapore, the United Kingdom and Canada are the only international markets named for JioHotstar in the supplied material, which does not establish whether commerce features, content catalogues or sports rights are the same in each market.

The reported subscriber-base increase is distinct from the domestic MAU metric in the presentation. JioHotstar does not provide a conversion rate between the measures or disclose the number of paying subscribers in the three international markets.

Which content areas supported JioHotstar's audience and advertising growth?

JioHotstar reported 15% year-on-year growth in digital entertainment watch time in Q2 FY27, driven by network general entertainment channels, or GECs, and originals. The six Bigg Boss editions launched with 12% growth in digital watch time, while Khatron Ke Khiladi 15 delivered its best season, according to the presentation.

Other entertainment titles supplied evidence across formats. The Bigg Boss franchise in Hindi, Bangla and four southern languages increased watch time by 12% against previous seasons on JioHotstar, Khatron Ke Khiladi 15 doubled from the preceding season, and Pritam and Pedro was identified as the platform's highest-performing streaming original.

Sports audiences also grew across several properties. Digital viewership for England-India, comprising five Twenty20 internationals and three one-day internationals, was 12% above Australia-India 2025, while connected-TV, or CTV, viewership was 11% higher. JioHotstar called England-India its biggest bilateral overseas series by viewership.

The subsequent India-West Indies series, comprising three one-day internationals and five Twenty20 internationals, lifted digital viewership 12% and CTV viewership 13% above England-India 2026. For the Premier League 2026-27, digital viewing was 25% above the 2025-26 season and CTV viewing was 13% higher, based on data through Game Week 8 on 25 October 2026.

What do JioStar's financial results show?

JioStar reported operating revenue of Rs 6,806 crore in Q2 FY27, up 10% from Rs 6,179 crore in Q2 FY26. Management said subscription revenue grew across digital and linear television, sports advertising benefited from more cricket events, and digital entertainment advertising increased with higher CTV monetisation.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or EBITDA, from operations did not rise with revenue in the same quarter. JioStar reported EBITDA from operations of Rs 1,372 crore in Q2 FY27, down 11% from Rs 1,533 crore a year earlier, while total EBITDA declined 14% to Rs 1,502 crore and EBITDA margin fell 600 basis points to 22.1%.

The year-on-year comparison differs from the immediately preceding quarter. Q2 FY27 operating revenue of Rs 6,806 crore was below Rs 10,946 crore in Q1 FY27, while EBITDA from operations increased from Rs 933 crore in Q1 FY27 to Rs 1,372 crore. The presentation attributes revenue growth to subscriptions and advertising but gives no numerical allocation between JioHotstar and linear television.

Conclusion

JioHotstar's Q2 FY27 presentation shows a strategy to broaden engagement after IPL through a 440 million-MAU base, a 75% sequential increase in active conversational-discovery users, food ordering embedded in entertainment and three international launches. Entertainment watch time rose 15% year on year, while several sports properties recorded double-digit digital and CTV viewing growth.

What to watch next is whether JioHotstar discloses commerce volumes or revenue following the completed food-delivery integration and provides further detail on the 30% subscriber-base increase after its international relaunch. Management also cited higher CTV-driven digital entertainment advertising and record monetisation for India-West Indies, while JioStar's Q2 FY27 EBITDA margin of 22.1% was below 28.1% a year earlier.