Last Updated on 5 days by Charbel Coorey

The 18th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) kicked off on March 22, and things are looking up for the whole tournament in terms of viewership. JioCinema recorded a 40% increase in digital viewership compared to last season, driven by a 54% surge in Connected TV (CTV) consumption. They also reported that the opening weekend had 137 crore views with peak concurrency reaching 3.4 crore viewers.

Aside from digital streaming, TV viewership on Star Sports also grew on the opening weekend with 25.3 crore viewers and 2,770 crores watch time minutes. That said, IPL 2025 viewership rating for the first three matches was up by an average of 39%.

What this Rise in IPL 2025 Viewership Entails

This good news is welcomed by JioStar CEO Sanjog Gupta. Speaking with Bomay Sport Exchange (BSE), he talked about what this growth entails. “Since 2018, which is when we acquired the rights to IPL for Star at that time, on television viewership, it has grown close to 40%.” He further explains, “For an evolved, mature property that the IPL already was in 2018, to grow as significantly as that shows two things.

“One, that the property always had the immense potential to go from where it was to unseen heights. Two, it shows the potential of this market and the immense headroom for growth that the market has if you are willing to reimagine the possibilities.”

Gupta said that this is always what they’re aiming to do, and has been the goal of the merger between Disney+ Hotstar and JioCinema. They hope to continue the growth trajectory and reach a billion viewers this year across different platforms (TV, mobile, and other connected devices).

He also highlighted an important factor shaping digital growth, and pointed out that if India has about 250-270 million households, only about 150-260 million currently have a living room device where they can watch [the matches]. That’s the headroom for growth for all living room devices.”

Other Impact of Increase in Viewership

Kiran Mani, JioStar’s digital chief, also shared his thoughts on the record-breaking viewership increase for IPL 2025. According to him, the IPL is setting a new benchmark for how India engages with live sports and entertainment at an unmatched scale. He explained that the opening weekend showcased how innovation in cricket and its accessibility can create richer, more interactive experiences that allow fans to connect with the game like never before.

This is true since, aside from streaming and watching the matches live on TV, Indian cricket betting platforms have also recognised this growing audience base as an opportunity. Blask has released a report that there is also an increase in player interest and market activity that includes the betting sector.

Aside from that, GR8 Tech, an iGaming solutions provider, has recently spoken about how IPL is still the biggest betting event of the year. Their Head of Sport Product, Vlad Andrusenko, spoke with SBC News about this and said that the increase in coverage just drives engagement, and that has so far led to a 30-40% increase in revenue for their clients.

Andrusenko also said they have also noticed that the biggest traffic spikes in IPL betting are usually when favorite teams like Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Mumbai Indians compete, especially against each other.

How Matches Also Impact Viewers’ Interest

Gupta also touched upon the broader impact of cricket’s marquee rivalries in driving viewership engagement. Reflecting on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he noted its success in the 2024-25 season, with record-breaking viewership for the five-Test series. According to Gupta, the fierce rivalry between India and Australia continues to thrive due to its competitive intensity instead of the match formats.

He said that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy or the rivalry between India and Australia only comes second to the rivalry between India and Pakistan. However, even if India-Australia rivalry may not have the cultural or historic significance that the India-Pakistan rivalry has, it’s still up there.

So Don’t Miss Out on IPL 2025

The 2025 IPL will run until May 25, 2025, and the tournament is only over a week in. There will be a total of 74 matches that fans can stream live on JioStar and watch on channels like Sky Sports and Fox Cricket. It’s also worth noting that JioStar has recently launched a new streaming feature. Fans can now scan a QR code while watching IPL live to see a match’s key highlights to make viewing more immersive.