Premier League Clocks More Than 9 Billion Minutess Of Watch-Time
India watched a total of 9.04 billion minutes of Premier League football during the 2025/26 season
India watched a total of 9.04 billion minutes of Premier League football during the 2025/26 season 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 Beautiful Game's Indian Decade, a study conducted in partnership with Nielsen, showcased 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.
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.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)