JioStar adds The Hundred rights in its kitty

JioStar has acquired the exclusive television and digital rights to broadcast The Hundred 2026 in India, adding another international cricket property to its sports portfolio amid intense competition for premium media rights.The broadcaster said on Tuesday it had acquired the rights for both the men's and women's competitions from Sony Pictures Networks India, the tournament's official rights holder in India.

All 68 matches will be streamed on JioHotstar and broadcast on the Star Sports Network.JioStar, the joint venture between Reliance Industries and Walt Disney, has been expanding its sports portfolio across television and digital platforms, with the latest acquisition adding another international cricket property to its lineup.The sixth edition of the England and Wales Cricket Board's (ECB) 100-ball tournament gets underway on July 21 with a double-header at The Oval and concludes with the finals at Lord's on August 16.The acquisition adds to the race among Indian broadcasters and streaming platforms to secure exclusive sports rights, with live events continuing to drive audience engagement and subscription growth.

Besides the IPL, companies have invested heavily in rights to ICC tournaments, FIFA competitions, Formula One and major European football leagues to strengthen their offerings.The Hundred, launched by the ECB in 2021, was conceived as a shorter, faster format of cricket aimed at attracting younger and more diverse audiences.

The competition features eight city-based franchises and has steadily grown into a platform showcasing some of the biggest names in international men's and women's cricket.This season also marks a new phase for the tournament following changes in franchise ownership.

Oval Invincibles have been rebranded as MI London, Northern Superchargers as SunRisers Leeds, while Manchester Originals will now compete as Manchester Super Giants.The men's competition will feature players including Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan, Heinrich Klaasen, Phil Salt, Tim David, David Miller and Harry Brook.

MI London enters the tournament as the three-time defending champions.The women's competition is expected to draw significant interest among Indian viewers with several national team players featuring across franchises.

Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh will represent Manchester Super Giants, Deepti Sharma will play for SunRisers Leeds, while Jemimah Rodrigues will turn out for Southern Brave.

Other Indian players in the tournament include Kiran Navgire, Shweta Sehrawat, Asha Sobhana and Nandani Sharma.Prashant Khanna, Head of Rights & Innovation for Sports at JioStar, said The Hundred had established itself as one of the world's most innovative cricket competitions and that the presence of leading international stars alongside Indian players would help grow the tournament's following in the country. ...