JioHotstar grabs India vs England Test streaming rights; Sony LIV left out as SPNI keeps TV

By Aarav

Thirteen million people watched at the same time on their phones and TVs on the final day of the final Test. For a format many call slow, that peak concurrency is a jaw-dropper. It didn’t happen by accident. Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) handed the India vs England Test series’ digital streaming to JioHotstar, kept the television rights for itself, and changed how big cricket tours are delivered in India.

What changed: a split-rights deal that shook up who streams what

The five-match series, which began on June 20, 2025, marked a clear shift. SPNI chose not to keep everything under one roof. Instead, it sub-licensed the digital rights to JioStar’s JioHotstar and held on to TV via Sony Entertainment Television and Sony Sports Network channels, including Sony Sports Ten 1 and Sony Sports Ten 5.

For viewers, the headline was simple: stream on JioHotstar; watch on Sony Sports channels; not available on Sony LIV. That last bit mattered. Sony has long leaned on its own platform, but this time it stepped back from the digital fight and focused on broadcast.

Inside both companies, the pitch was clear—combine reach. JioStar brought scale on mobile and connected TVs. SPNI brought a strong broadcast footprint and event packaging on linear. Executives from JioStar called it a win for fans and for the sport, saying the tie-up widened access without forcing viewers to pick one ecosystem.

The viewing numbers backed that up. Across the five Tests, total watch time crossed 65 billion minutes. More than 170 million unique viewers tuned in through the series—an unprecedented number for a Test contest in India. The audience swelled as the series tightened, culminating in that 13 million concurrent streamers on the fifth day of the fifth Test.

Two storylines pulled casual fans in. First, Shubman Gill captained India in Tests for the first time, becoming one of the youngest to do it. Second, the series was renamed the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, a nod to two giants whose careers framed an era. The cricket itself delivered—a 2-2 finish with momentum swings almost every session.

Siddharth Sharma, who leads content and sports at JioStar, pointed to that ebb and flow as the hook. In his words, Test cricket gives you a story every hour, and the job is to make that story easy to follow. His team leaned on production choices designed to keep fans engaged over long spells—clean graphics, tighter highlight loops, and frequent context resets so viewers dropping in didn’t feel lost.

On SPNI’s side, the strategy looked more like focus than retreat. Television still delivers reliable reach and advertising returns for marquee series. By letting JioHotstar carry the digital load, SPNI reduced risk in a crowded streaming market while still owning the big live event feel on its sports channels.

Why it matters: reach, records, and a new template for big tours

This deal tells us where sports media in India is heading. Instead of one company locking up both TV and digital, we’re seeing shared distribution designed to maximize total audience. That’s not just corporate spin. The record numbers suggest it works, especially for long series where casual viewers dip in and out.

Here’s how it played out for fans:

• Where to watch: Digital on JioHotstar; television on Sony Entertainment Television and Sony Sports Network (Sony Sports Ten 1, Sony Sports Ten 5).
• Not on: Sony LIV did not carry the series.
• Format: Five Tests, renamed the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, ending 2-2.
• Headline numbers: 13 million peak concurrent digital viewers on the final day; 170 million unique viewers across the series; 65 billion minutes watched.

For JioHotstar, the series slotted neatly into a cricket-heavy content stack. Big, appointment-viewing matches help keep subscribers active and reduce churn between major tournaments. The platform also gets premium ad inventory around sessions, innings breaks, and key moments—a sweet spot for brands that want national reach without paying for full-match takeovers.

SPNI, meanwhile, doubled down on its strengths. Live Tests are day-long television events. They deliver steady ratings across multiple markets, and they pair well with studio analysis and language feeds. By concentrating on broadcast, SPNI kept control of production and presentation while letting a digital partner handle streaming scale, peak demand, and app-side innovation.

What about the cricket itself? A 2-2 draw rarely feels dull when both teams believe they could have won 3-2. Morning sessions that swung with the new ball, middle-order rebuilds, and late-evening chases kept the meter running. Gill’s first series as captain mattered too. Every field change and batting order tweak was over-analyzed, which is exactly the kind of chatter that drives second-screen viewing.

The renaming to the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy added a layer of nostalgia and respect. Fans got a clear narrative: India’s next-gen leader guiding a side in a series named after a batting icon and a fast-bowling marvel, both of whom defined consistency.

Under the hood, the production strategy leaned into clarity. Test cricket unfolds slowly, and attention can drift. Short highlight loops, quick stat cards, and regular context resets help maintain rhythm. JioStar’s executives framed this as “immersive storytelling”—not VR headsets or gimmicks, but better pacing and fewer gaps.

From a business lens, the split-rights model spreads risk and widens revenue options. Digital benefits from dynamic ad pricing and granular targeting; TV offers predictable reach and premium sponsorships. Cross-promotion between platforms also matters: television shoulder programming can point viewers to digital clips and vice versa, creating a flywheel of attention through a long series.

There’s also a tactical reason this model could stick. India’s streaming market is crowded and costly. Infrastructure, customer support, content delivery networks, and peak-traffic management aren’t cheap. Partnering lets broadcasters avoid duplicative spends and still hit national scale. If you care about the bottom line, that’s hard to ignore.

For fans planning the next big series, here’s the simple takeaway. If you stream, open JioHotstar. If you prefer the big screen and a remote, go to Sony Sports Ten 1 or Ten 5, with some coverage also on Sony Entertainment Television. Don’t look for the matches on Sony LIV—they’re not there under this arrangement.

The record concurrency on the series’ final day will likely be the headline stat for a while. But the more important number might be 170 million uniques. That’s the signal that a well-packaged Test series can still pull in massive audiences in India. When the cricket is tense and the delivery is smooth, people show up—whether on a phone in a metro commute or on a living-room TV on a Sunday morning.

If you’re SPNI, this outcome validates a focus-on-TV strategy while dabbling in smart partnerships. If you’re JioStar, it proves that building habit around long-form cricket is possible, not just around franchise T20. And if you’re a fan, you just got a roadmap for where to find the next big tour without juggling three apps.