Speaking at FICCI Frames 2026, JioStar Sports CEO Ishan Chatterjee said the company will focus on broadcast quality, player storytelling and building fandom around the women’s game.
afaqs! news bureau30 Sep 2026
16:57IST
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JioStar will continue to invest across the women’s cricket ecosystem, said Ishan Chatterjee, CEO, JioStar, Sports, speaking at FICCI Frames 2026. “We were believers in women’s cricket well before it became mainstream. In fact, we were the broadcast partners for the WPL when it first started.”
The ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 reached 446 million viewers. “The 2025 Women’s World Cup was a real inflection point. The final was as big as an IPL game. It gives a sense of viewership, engagement and the fandom that has been built behind the women’s game, which also followed through into the 2026 WPL. We’re very excited about the upcoming WPL and the (ICC Women’s) Champions Trophy,” he said.
The Women’s Premier League (WPL) has steadily grown into a premium property, with sponsors in the 2026 edition spanning FMCG, technology, BFSI, auto, apparel and AI. “You can expect our investment to continue to increase, and not just in monetary terms. We’re going to invest in the quality of the broadcast while continuing to double down on player storytelling and building heroes because that is the core of what generates fandom.
On how fans watch across screens, Chatterjee explained
On how fans watch across screens, Chatterjee explained that watching on mobile phone is a personal experience and lends itself to interactivity while Connected TV is a communal experience. “The big screen allows you to do a lot more with the features, our view is that we need to cater to both those audiences at all times.”
Speaking about the sports calendar, he said JioStar is keen to serve the individual fan ecosystems for multiple sports, but that does not necessarily mean stacking more events. “What that means is formats that have a differentiated viewer proposition or can create context around it will do well, and formats that are unable to do so will get challenged. Just as an example, our data tells us that multilateral cricket tournaments have higher audience engagement than some bilateral cricket.”
He also noted that streaming has unlocked opportunities that didn’t exist in the traditional broadcast world, allowing multiple sports with passionate fan bases to thrive.
Ishan ChatterjeeJioStarFICCI FRAMES 2026
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