Cricket fans in India were forced to keep scrolling and extensively exploring JioHotstar’s home page as they couldn’t find the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL 15) match between Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Sixers.
According to several complaints, the streamer didn’t show the first two overs of the game and instead kept running ads (“Hey Ladki” ads) for the upcoming WPL season, highlights from previous matches, and other irrelevant promos.
One X user jokingly pointed out that the moment Pakistan’s Babar Azam got out, JioHotstar resumed the live stream of the match.
This isn’t the first time the platform has faced backlash. Since the large-scale merger between Disney+ Hotstar and Reliance, fans have frequently complained about ad-heavy interfaces (even for Premium users), lags during high-stakes moments, and difficulty finding live sports tabs in the revamped UI.
With major ICC events on the horizon, the pressure is mounting on JioHotstar to prove that its backend can handle the weight of India’s cricket-obsessed population.
The BBL blackout serves as a cautionary tale for the upcoming cricketing calendar. With high-stakes tournaments like the T20 World Cup and the IPL around the corner, JioHotstar’s backend needs to be more than just functional. It needs to be bulletproof.
Reliance and Disney’s multi-billion-pound marriage was promised to be a win for the Indian consumer, but if glitches and so-called Babar Azam superstitions continue to trend over the actual sport, viewers may soon start looking for more reliable alternatives to catch their favourite stars in action.
At the end of the day, fans don’t tune in to watch WPL promos or highlights from games they’ve already seen. They tune in for the live, unscripted drama of the pitch. Stay tuned for more updates.
Here’s how Indian cricket fans have reacted to the overall scenario!
@JioHotstar
As Babar got out, Hotstar continues to stream. #BBL#ADSvsSYS— Awesh Yadav (@aweshktr) December 17, 2025
WTH is wrong with ur broadcasting on @JioHotstar ??
— abrarahmed (@abrarahmed27193) December 17, 2025
@JioHotstar showing Hey Ladki Ad instead of BBL matches#BBL
— Santosh Says (@SmpPhukan) December 17, 2025
@JioHotstar BBL? #BBL15 #JioHotstar pic.twitter.com/kNdemeoDtH
— Izhan Mehraj (@TheCricketSaga) December 17, 2025
@JioHotstar – BBL match already started and you are still showing ads on tv . Unsubscribing JioHotstar today itself . !
— Laksh jain (@lakshdeepjain) December 17, 2025
@JioHotstar are you in your senses don’t want fucking WPL AD WHERE IS @BBL match ??
— shoib khan (@khan_shoib) December 17, 2025
@JioHotstar what the hell happened to the live telecast of the BBL? Why am I watching highlights of a previous game when there's a live game going on
— Leonardo Carvalho (@ukuleo99) December 17, 2025
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