The Delhi High Court has provided interim relief to JioStar India, allowing it to block illegal streaming of the IPL 2026, which begins on March 28 and runs until May 31.
Through two separate ex parte ad interim injunctions issued on March 25, the court targeted rogue websites and Android apps accused of pirating IPL content. JioStar holds exclusive digital and broadcast rights for the IPL from 2023 to 2027, a deal approved by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The court emphasized that unauthorized streaming would violate these rights and result in significant revenue losses that are difficult to recover. It highlighted the ongoing risk of piracy, citing previous incidents where similar platforms streamed matches without authorization.
Specific actions taken by the court include:
- Restraining websites like daddylives.nl from streaming IPL content.
- Targeting Android apps such as Abbasi TV, CricFY TV, RTS TV, CricPK, and HD Streamz, which distribute pirated streams via APK files.
These apps primarily aim to provide free access to copyrighted content, circumventing legitimate paid platforms.
The court's “dynamic injunction” permits JioStar to identify and flag new infringing websites during the IPL season, facilitating swift blocking by domain registrars and internet service providers. For mobile apps, a “dynamic+” injunction was issued, covering not only current apps but also future versions and mirror links that may emerge.
To enhance compliance, the court instructed domain registrars to suspend infringing domains and provide registrant information, payment data, and KYC records. Internet service providers are required to block access to identified platforms within strict timelines, sometimes as short as 36 hours.
Additionally, the Department of Telecommunications and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have been directed to issue notifications to ensure adherence to these orders.
Notably, the IPL media rights for the 2023–2027 cycle were sold for a staggering ₹48,390 crore, making it one of the most lucrative sports leagues globally, valued at approximately ₹118 crore per match. This deal reflects a significant increase from the previous cycle, which valued rights at around ₹54.5 crore per match.
In a related case, the Delhi High Court recently ordered the blocking of 21 domains associated with fake fantasy gaming apps that imitated Dream11’s branding, highlighting the court's commitment to protecting intellectual property and consumer trust.
