‘Cricket prices have run out of control’: Uday Shankar on JioStar’s sports rights challenge

In a fireside chat at ET WLF 2026, Uday Shankar, Vice Chairman, JioStar, speaks with Satyan Gajwani, Chairman, Times Internet, about the changing economics of sports and media. Shankar explains why sports has been a great strategic investment for JioStar, while acknowledging the financial challenges created by soaring cricket rights costs. He also discusses how sports helped JioStar reach 600 million monthly active users and how the company has converted sports audiences into entertainment consumers. Shankar weighs in on the increasingly concentrated sports-rights market and why, in his words, ‘something is broken.’