Broadcasting rights swapped for India vs England Test series

In a significant update ahead of the India tour of England, JioHotstar has bagged the streaming rights for the upcoming Test series. The India vs England series, slated to kick off from June 20 at Headingley, will mark the beginning of the new WTC Cycle. The digital streaming rights for the five-match Test series, meanwhile, have been handed to JioHotstar. While the Sony Network has the broadcasting rights for the fixtures in England, the two parties have apparently reached an agreement. With JioHotstar seemingly clinching the sub-license for the series, it is eligible to stream the tour on its platform while Sony keeps the television broadcasting rights.

Sony Network and JioHotstar reach an agreement as the digital streaming rights for India vs England Test series go to the latter

The Sony Sports Network bagged the rights to broadcast the fixtures in England till 2031. However, a recent report suggests that JioHotstar and Sony Network have reached an agreement to share the rights for the India vs England Test series. An official announcement is in line, which will highlight that the five Test matches would be available for digital streaming on the JioHotstar platform. Meanwhile, the Sony Network has kept the linear hosting rights with themselves.

JioHotstar has steadily extended its range of hosting the Indian fixtures. Before gaining the sub-license for the India vs England series, the platform already held the rights for all the home fixtures of Team India. Moreover, the massive opportunity of hosting the biggest T20 league in the world, the IPL, is also with this very platform. Currently, JioHotstar is digitally streaming IPL 2025 while the Star Sports network broadcasts the tournament on television.

Sony has held on to the linear television rights, ensuring that English cricket will continue airing on the Sony Sports network. The broadcaster had renewed its deal to showcase matches from England last year, securing an eight-year extension. However, according to recent reports, the ECB has struck a separate arrangement allowing digital streaming to shift to the newly integrated JioHotstar platform.

This development follows the major merger between Reliance Jio and Star Sports earlier in the year, a move that led to the formation of the unified JioHotstar platform. Since its inception, the platform has become the digital home for several marquee events, including the WPL, the ICC Champions Trophy, and the ongoing IPL 2025. In addition to cricket, JioHotstar also holds streaming rights for the English Premier League. Meanwhile, Sony Sports continues to be the go-to network for coverage of the UEFA Champions League, ATP tennis, and UFC events.