Published on: August 11, 2026
Mumbai, August 10 2026: JioStar today released The Beautiful Game’s Indian Decade, a study conducted in partnership with Nielsen, showcasing the Premier League’s burgeoning audience expansion in India. Drawing on BARC data and Nielsen consumer research, the report examines how the League emerged as one of India’s most valuable sports communities.
India watched a total of 9.04 billion minutes of Premier League football during the 2025/26 season across JioStar network, with watch-time on Linear TV (LTV) standing at 3X that of the Champions League. The combined reach across JioStar’s linear television and digital screens has grown 2.4X over the past five years, as the League now clocks 144.5 million followers in India.
The report highlights how the Premier League’s growth has expanded well beyond urban markets. States such as Rajasthan, Bihar/Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, which together contributed approximately 12% of viewership five years ago, now account for nearly 25%, recording more than 200% growth over the last five years. Towns with populations exceeding one million now contribute approximately 55% of mobile and web viewing and approximately 63% of Connected TV (CTV). This signifies a sizeable portion of audiences residing in the non-metro cities.
The report also identifies international football events as important catalysts for Premier League fans in India. As fans follow top Premier League players representing their national teams, familiarity with them goes up. That interest carries into the club season, translating into stronger engagement and sustained viewership. Following the FIFA World Cup Qatar, 2022, Premier League viewership in India increased by 58% in the subsequent season, with continued double-digit growth thereafter.
To understand the audience profile and behavior in depth, the study finds that Premier League fans represent one of India’s most premium consumer segments. 70% of them pay monthly credit card bills exceeding ₹40,000, 67% maintain a CIBIL score of 751 or above, and 87% are paid subscribers of OTT, music and sports platforms, reflecting strong purchasing power across both television and digital audiences.
Across a season spanning 380 fixtures from August to May, audiences are highly engaged, with many watching live matches, highlights, and participating in social discussions. Late-night appointment viewing anchors a week-long ritual for the League fans as 27% of total watch time occurs between 12:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m.
Premier League Chief Media Officer Paul Molnar said: “India has one of the Premier League’s most passionate and rapidly growing fanbases, and this report highlights how this has developed in recent years. We are delighted to see more Indian supporters connecting with the League, our clubs and players than ever before – and how this is reflected in the amount of Premier League football they are watching. As we look ahead to another exciting season, we remain committed to working closely with JioStar to bring fans in India closer to the Premier League and deliver the best possible viewing experience.”
Anup Govindan, Head of Sales, Sports, JioStar said: “The story of the Premier League in India today is one of integration where football has become part of the daily routine of millions of fans. This report reaffirms that the audience growth is not just in scale, but in affluence, engagement and diversity and the next growth phase will be driven by young, metro, and non-metro audiences that seek experiences beyond live matches.”
Mr. Hemant Kewalya India Lead – Audience Measurement Nielsen, said: “Based on a global Nielsen report, Football is India’s second-most popular sport among adults, trailing only to cricket. With evolving audience interest and behaviour this study provides an understanding of how Premier League audiences engage with the sport across regions and platforms, signalling sports interest and highlighting viewing habits, enabling more informed decision making across the media ecosystem”
To download the full report, please click here: https://rebrand.ly/PLReport26a27b
