IPL Is Fueling India’s Mobile App Market: JioHotstar Dominates Entertainment While super.money Downloads Nearly Double

The IPL 2026 season proved to be a powerful driver of digital engagement across India's mobile ecosystem, with JioHotstar serving as the exclusive streaming hub. Sensor Tower data reveals a 25% PoP increase in downloads (32M total), 41% growth in average DAU, and nearly 60% rise in average monthly sessions to 61.3 in April. The app launched Tadka, a short drama offering, to broaden engagement beyond live sports.

Web traffic also grew 30% PoP. Swiggy Instamart capitalized by becoming the top grocery brand in ad impressions, capturing 37% of category impressions during the week of April 20, and achieving a record 44% open rate. super.money saw downloads nearly double (13% of cumulative downloads in this period), ranking first in digital wallet download growth.

Its paid-channel installs increased from 20% to 25%, and ad impressions surged 5.5x. Creatives focused on IPL match-night scenarios with cashback on food ordering. Key takeaways: platform-level engagement metrics highlight the value of live events for user acquisition; brands can leverage streaming ad inventory and contextual creatives; fintech and commerce apps should align campaigns with match schedules to boost conversion.