Unexpectedly, JioHotstar bags the digital streaming rights for the upcoming India tour of England.
Sony Entertainment Network owns the match-broadcasting rights till 2031 after signing an 8-year deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The most prominent five-match Test series is sublicensed to Mukesh Ambani’s online streaming platform. For the first time in Indian cricket telecasting, two large-scale broadcasters, JioStar and Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), share rights, which is a specialized and unique agreement.
Broadcasting Rights of JioHotstar
Already, JioHotstar holds the broadcasting rights for the home assignments of India’s national team as well as owns the rights to stream the ICC tournaments and the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Especially, the digital platform became stronger after agreeing to a deal for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Australia. This highlights the online platform’s major success in gaining these rights and dominating Indian cricket live-streaming.
Bagging the digital rights of the upcoming Test series between England and India, JioHotstar signed a deal with Sony Entertainment Network or Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited. The five-match Test series between England and India, starting June 20, 2025, will be made available to view on JioHotstar too.
JioHotstar to Stream India’s White Ball Tour to England in 2026
It is to be noted that JioHotstar will provide the live-streaming services for India’s white ball tour to England in July 2026, that includes 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is. In other words, the present agreement between JioStar and Sony is expected to extend for next year’s summer limited-overs series as well, that comprises eight international matches.
Sony Agrees to Sub-License!
Reportedly, the negotiations between these two big platforms have been ON for the past month. And an agreement is reported to have been reached in the last 24 hours. Although Sony agreed to sublicense the digital streaming of the matches, but retained the linear rights of the series, which will now be shown on the Sony Sports network.
On Monday evening (May 26), Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and JioStar confirmed their collaboration to provide a seamless entertaining experience for all cricket fans through their respective digital platforms.
It becomes clear that the ECB might have played a significant role in encouraging the mutual agreement between Jio, Star, and Sony.
JioStar CEO Opens Up on Their Partnership with SPNI
Sanjog Gupta, the CEO of Sports and Live Experiences in JioStar, commented about the collaboration with SPNI’s broadcast network:
“Certainly! This is one such partnership that is a positive moment, a win-win affair for all stakeholders involved, particularly the Indian cricket fans, serving a broader sporting community.
The collaboration of JioHotstar’s in-depth digital services along with SPNI’s broadcast network will open up new universal access to all of India’s tours of England. As a traditional platform for cricket viewing, JioHotstar promises to offer a unique viewing experience to millions that is easy to use, engaging and make them feel completely immersed.
Also, we guarantee to continue to extend the strength of our story telling, user-friendly features and strong connection to create infinite opportunities to serve fans on our platforms,” Sanjog said.
SPNI CEO Excited About The New Collaboration
Gaurav Banerjee —The Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sony Pictures Networks India expressed his excitement about collaboration with JioStar:
“Yes! We feel thrilled to carry this incredible partnership to all ardent cricket fans for India’s upcoming tour to England! Supported by the quality of the Sony TV network and digital superiority of JioStar, this partnership ignites hopes to redefine the standards of live coverage of cricket matches.
Hereby, we declare our sincere thanks to our partners in the ECB for extending their valuable help and support,” Gaurav said.
A New Strategy of Reliance Industries: Merging Reliance Jio and Star Sports in 2025
Earlier this year, Reliance Jio and Star Sports collaborated in a sensational deal that led to the development of the JioHotstar platform. So far, their streaming services have broadcasted the ICC Champions Trophy, Women’s Premier League (WPL) as well as the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2025.
Moreover, the broadcasting rights of the English Premier League (EPL) have been retained by JioStar, while Sony has been the top choice platform for the European Champions League (ECL) in football, along with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
This partnership with Sony and Jio paves the way for a new era to upgrade Indian sports broadcasting. These two biggest platforms in the digital industry have collaborated to provide an uncompromised cricket viewing experience to viewers across digital and linear networks.
Overall Verdict:
To reiterate in simple words, Sony Sports will retain the broadcasting rights on television, while JioHotstar will stream the live content on its digital platforms, which include mobile phones, PCs, laptops, tablets, and smart TVs
