India
Last updated · By Markets Desk
India's free cricket is now the statutory feed carried over the air, and little else. The free streaming tier that carried major cricket ended in January 2026 and the biggest competition moved behind a paywall, reversing a position India had held for years. The statutory feed reaches anyone with an antenna, but a Supreme Court ruling keeps it off cable during a match.
What is free to watch in India
For free sport in India, the options are DD Sports, Waves, all publicly or advertising funded.
- DD Sports carries cricket and multi-sport coverage, over the air. The reliable free option. Reachable with an antenna, though the Supreme Court limited the must-carry rule to Prasar Bharati's own terrestrial and DTH networks.
- Waves carries the public broadcaster's free streaming service. Prasar Bharati's own OTT service, which carries the same free feed over the internet rather than the air.
Why the free option exists here
India used to be the clearest example anywhere of free coverage being used to grow an audience: cricket was streamed free for years on the calculation that reach was worth more than the rights fee. That has now reversed. The free streaming tier was withdrawn in January 2026 and the biggest competition moved behind a paywall, so the free position now rests on the statutory DD Sports feed rather than on a commercial choice.
Free-to-air protection
Yes, but limited in reach. The Sports Broadcasting Signals Act requires events of national importance to be shared with Prasar Bharati, but a 2017 Supreme Court ruling confined that duty to Prasar Bharati's own terrestrial and DTH networks — so the free feed is not available on cable.
Absent this rule, free coverage of these events would be a coincidence of the current deal.
What sits behind a subscription
Subscription services here are JioHotstar, SonyLIV, FanCode. They buy breadth, not the protected events.
The free services here, at a glance
| Service | Funded by | What it carries |
|---|---|---|
| DD Sports | public funding | cricket and multi-sport coverage |
| JioCinema | advertising | a large free tier including cricket |
How this market compares
India is the clearest example anywhere of free coverage being used deliberately to grow an audience rather than as a regulated floor. Cricket boards have streamed major tournaments free on the calculation that reach is worth more than the rights fee, which produces one of the largest free sporting audiences in the world.
Practical advice for a viewer here
The free streaming tier for cricket, and the free-to-air terrestrial channel for multi-sport coverage. Between them they cover a large share of what people search for.
The trap to watch for
The shape of the free tier has changed as rights have been renewed, so it is worth checking what is currently free rather than assuming the previous arrangement still holds.
Locating one match on free television
- Find where it is being played.
- Start with the host's public broadcaster.
- Then your own country's broadcaster.
- Highlights if needed.
Live, or highlights?
Live free sport includes major cricket on the free streaming tier and multi-sport coverage on the terrestrial channel. India has one of the largest free live sporting audiences in the world.
The mistakes people make here
The commonest mistake is assuming the free tier will still carry what it carried last season. The shape of it has changed as rights have been renewed, so it is worth checking rather than assuming. The second is overlooking DD Sports, the free-to-air terrestrial channel, which carries multi-sport coverage at no cost and needs no account.
How this market got here
India's free position was created deliberately. Cricket boards chose to stream major tournaments free rather than sell exclusively, on the calculation that a larger audience was worth more over time than a rights fee, and the result is one of the largest free sporting audiences in the world. That strategy is unusual and it is why cricket has a genuine free route to top-level competition.
In practice
The practical consequence in India is that the free position is unusually strong for the sport that matters most. Cricket has a genuine free route to top-level competition, both through the streaming tier and through the free-to-air channel, which is a position few markets offer for their national sport.
What it costs, honestly
Nothing compulsory. The free streaming tier is ad-supported and the terrestrial channel is free to air.
What happens when you are abroad
JioCinema's free tier is limited to India, and DD Sports is a terrestrial channel. From abroad, Indian cricket is sold to local broadcasters and the free route is a different one in each market.
Common questions
Is cricket free to watch in India?
Less than it used to be. The free streaming tier that carried major cricket ended in January 2026 and the biggest competition moved behind a paywall, which reversed a position India had held for years. What remains free is the statutory feed carried over the air, which reaches anyone with an antenna. India had been the clearest example anywhere of free coverage being used to grow an audience, and that strategy has been withdrawn.
What is the best free option in India?
The free-to-air terrestrial channel, which is the only reliable free route left. It carries cricket and multi-sport coverage over the air, and it needs no subscription or account. Its limitation is reach rather than content: a Supreme Court ruling confined the must-carry duty to the public broadcaster's own terrestrial and DTH networks, so the free feed is not available on cable during a match, and a viewer on cable does not receive it.
Does India have a law requiring free sport?
Yes, but with a limit that matters. The Sports Broadcasting Signals Act requires events of national importance to be shared with the public broadcaster, which is why a free feed exists at all. A 2017 Supreme Court ruling confined that duty to the public broadcaster's own terrestrial and DTH networks, so the free signal is not carried on cable or on paid satellite. The obligation is real, and so is the gap between what it requires and what most viewers can actually receive.
Why did free cricket end in India?
Because the free streaming tier was withdrawn and the biggest competition moved behind a subscription, which reversed a strategy India had followed for years. The calculation behind the free coverage was that reach was worth more than the rights fee, and that calculation changed when the platform merged and set out to convert its audience into subscribers. The result is that the free position now rests on the statutory feed rather than on a commercial choice to give the sport away.
Which channel carries the free cricket feed?
The free-to-air terrestrial channel, which carries cricket and multi-sport coverage over the air and needs no subscription or account. Its limitation is reach rather than content: a Supreme Court ruling confined the must-carry duty to the public broadcaster's own terrestrial and DTH networks, so the free feed is not available on cable during a match. A viewer on cable therefore does not receive it even though it is being broadcast.
What happened to the free streaming tier in India?
It was withdrawn in January 2026 and the biggest competition moved behind a paywall, which reversed a strategy India had followed for years. The calculation behind the free coverage had been that reach was worth more than the rights fee, and that changed when the platform merged and set out to convert its audience into subscribers. The free position now rests on the statutory feed rather than on a commercial choice to give the sport away.