iWorld
JioHotstar and Amitabh Bachchan bring Ram Navami celebrations to millions
MUMBAI: JioHotstar is set to bring the sacred grandeur of Ram Navami to millions with a special live stream from Ayodhya on 6 April, from 8 am to 1 pm. Featuring Padma Vibhushan Amitabh Bachchan as the narrator of the Ram Katha, the event will combine spiritual rituals, musical tributes, and cultural performances, making it an unmissable experience for devotees.
Following the massive success of Coldplay’s Music of the spheres and the Mahashivratri: The Divine Night live streams, JioHotstar continues to revolutionise digital devotion, bridging the gap between audiences and India’s most cherished cultural celebrations.
At the heart of this extraordinary event, Bachchan will narrate evocative stories from the Ramayana, offering reflections on Lord Ram’s virtues and timeless wisdom. The celebration will also include,
Live aartis from sacred sites including Bhadrachalam, Panchvati, Chitrakoot, and Ayodhya , A special pooja from Ayodhya’s Ram Janmabhoomi, Interactive storytelling sessions for children, making the Ramayana engaging and relatable, Soul-stirring bhajans and musical performances by Kailash Kher, Malini Awasthi, and other revered artists.
A JioHotstar spokesperson stated, “Our live streaming capabilities have allowed us to bring culturally significant experiences to audiences across India. With the legend himself, Bachchan narrating Lord Ram’s journey, this event promises to be deeply moving and spiritually enriching.”
Bachchan said, “Ram Navami is more than a festival it is a moment of deep reflection, a time to embrace the ideals of dharma, devotion, and righteousness that Lord Ram personified. Through JioHotstar, we are blessed with the power of technology to transcend distances, uniting hearts across the nation in an unprecedented celebration of faith, culture, and spirituality.”
MUMBAI: If cricket were a binge-worthy series, this one just dropped its most explosive pilot yet. The opening weekend of the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League has come out swinging, smashing records across both television and digital platforms and reaffirming the tournament’s unmatched pull in India’s sporting and media landscape.
Backed by two high-octane matches featuring 200-plus run chases, the tournament delivered a combined reach of over 515 million viewers across linear TV and digital platforms via JioStar’s broadcast ecosystem, including Star Sports and JioHotstar. More tellingly, engagement surged alongside reach, with total watch-time hitting 32.6 billion minutes, a sharp 26 per cent jump over the opening weekend of the previous season.
The numbers reveal a deeper shift in how India watches cricket. Connected TV (CTV) consumption rose by 30 per cent, while peak concurrency on digital platforms jumped 61 per cent, signalling a growing appetite for shared, big-screen streaming experiences. On traditional television, the momentum held strong, with TV ratings (TVR) climbing 24 per cent compared to earlier seasons’ opening matches.
A key driver of this spike has been the evolution of the viewing experience itself. This season introduced differentiated feeds, most notably a Hindi CTV broadcast featuring cricketing voices such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan. Blending expert analysis with a watch-along format, the feed has added a conversational, almost second-screen feel without requiring viewers to leave their screens.
According to JioStar CEO for Sports Ishan Chatterjee, at the opening weekend underscores not just scale but also the depth of engagement that live cricket continues to command. He noted that the combination of large-screen viewing and digital interactivity is creating a more immersive and personalised experience, while also delivering tangible outcomes for brand partners.
From the league’s perspective, the early numbers point to a tournament that continues to reinvent itself. Arun Singh Dhumal, Chairman of the IPL, said the strong start reflects how high-quality cricket paired with enhanced viewing formats is resonating with audiences nationwide, while Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Devajit Saikia highlighted the “quality of engagement” as a key takeaway, not just the scale.
Commercially too, the opening weekend signals robust advertiser confidence. The broadcast is led by co-presenting sponsors including Google (Search AI Mode), Campa Energy, and Havells & Lloyd, alongside co-powered partners such as Birla Opus, Hero Motocorp and Amazon. A long tail of associate sponsors from OpenAI and Asian Paints to Flipkart and Amul further reflects the league’s unmatched ability to aggregate advertiser interest at scale.
Taken together, the opening weekend numbers are less a spike and more a statement. With 515 million viewers, 32.6 billion minutes of watch-time, and double-digit growth across formats, IPL 2026 has not just started strong, it has set the tone for a season that looks poised to push the boundaries of both sport and spectacle.
