Mumbai: JioStar is in talks with Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi) for bundling the streaming platform's subscriptions with the telecom operators' data plans ahead of the high-stakes Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, said people familiar with the matter.With live sports now behind a paywall, the partnerships will be key to JioStar's goal of reaching over 1 billion viewers across television and digital platforms for the upcoming IPL. In 2024, IPL viewership touched 620 million on JioCinema and 541 million on the Star Sports network.These tie-ups will allow users to access premium JioHotstar content without having separate subscriptions, the people said. Experts say bundling OTT (over-the-top) subscriptions with prepaid and postpaid plans will drive telecom data consumption. Free live cricket on JioCinema and Disney+ Hotstar fuelled a surge in data usage in the past two years. These telecom partnerships will help JioHotstar reach a large internet audience base, especially now that it's behind a paywall, said an executive familiar with the talks, adding that the discussions include deals for both mobile and home broadband. Another person noted that JioHotstar's content deal with Airtel expired last month, making its renewal crucial for sustaining momentum, especially after the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the first major tournament behind a paywall since JioHotstar's launch on February 14.