JioStar has always had the money, the reach, and the muscle. What it hasn’t had is good content. For years, viewers and critics alike have complained that the platform simply doesn’t measure up to the storytelling quality offered by its rivals. Whether it’s flat writing, recycled plots, or just the lack of originality, the complaints have been valid. And yet, JioStar kept growing, thanks to free IPL streaming, aggressive bundling, and deep internet penetration.
Now, things might be changing. At the WAVES entertainment summit in Mumbai, JioStar’s vice chair Uday Shankar revealed that the company is spending more than ₹30,000 crore (around And in 2026, they’re planning to go even higher. Measuring up to approximately over $10 billion pumped into programming in three years.
The numbers are massive. JioStar already sees over half a billion visitors on its platforms. A chunk of that, no doubt, comes from streaming the IPL for free, a huge draw for cricket-loving India. But viewership is only one side of the coin. Without content that keeps people watching after the match is over, there’s little lasting value.
If this big spending finally brings better shows and movies, JioStar might actually stand a chance at going global. Shankar says India’s entertainment market could double in five years. That’s a big “if, because money can buy reach, but it can’t always buy good taste.