The next 5–10 Years will be transformative for India’s sports economy: JioStar's Ishan Chatterjee

India’s sports and media ecosystem is entering a new phase of explosive growth powered by fandom, technology, and inclusivity, said Ishan Chatterjee, CEO – Sports, JioStar, during a fireside chat at FICCI FRAMES 2025.

Ishan emphasized that while men’s cricket continues to grow, the real story lies in the rise of other sports. 

“The big trend that we are betting on is the rise of other sports in India. Whether those are established sports like tennis, football, and kabaddi, or even newer ones like e-sports, that’s where we expect exponential growth. And it’s not just because we want it to happen, as soon as Indian athletes start delivering world-class results, we see fandom accelerate. Just look at what Neeraj Chopra did for the javelin.”

Citing a Deloitte study, Ishan noted, “India’s sports economy is set to grow from $30 billion to $70 billion between 2023 and 2030. To put that in perspective, Brazil stands at $6–8 billion and the UK, one of the most advanced markets, is at about $40 billion. We are truly at an inflection point.”

Ishan also spotlighted the responsibility of platforms to drive inclusivity, particularly in women’s cricket: “Our role as broadcasters is to give women’s cricket visibility, prime-time slots, and the right storytelling so it inspires the next generation. WPL is one of the biggest priorities for us to make sure growth in women’s cricket.”

He further added, “From a consumption standpoint, there’s a lot of headroom, from a business perspective it makes a lot of sense to work around it. More importantly, it’s very important for women’s cricket to grow for our sporting culture, overall as a nation, to become more representative and more inclusive.”

While talking about IPL he highlighted, “The great thing about the IPL is the scale it operates on. During the last season we lit up over 1.1 billion screens across TV and digital. To grow consumption, whether it’s more viewers, more matches per season, or more watch time per game, we have to appeal to different interests. For the core fan it’s about depth and stats, but for the casual viewer it may be entertainment, creators, or even an IP like Motu Patlu engaging with kids. That mix is what keeps the IPL ecosystem growing”

Speaking on JioStar’s vision and role of technology, he added “India has always been at the cutting edge of tech adoption. At JioStar, we are led by consumer behaviour and our vision for sports viewing is a completely personalized one-to-one feed. Two people can watch the same match, but the experience, camera angles, commentary, interactive features will be entirely different for each.”

As the conversation concluded, Ishan highlighted that India’s rapid adoption of new technology is reshaping the way sports are experienced. He pointed out that innovations such as multi-cam viewing, vertical formats, and AI-driven smart highlights are already changing fan behavior, and this is only the beginning.