Ordering food right during a cricket match is now a reality for millions of Indian viewers

In the current IPL season, JioHotstar, together with delivery service Swiggy, launched a built-in in-player food ordering feature. The new addition lets viewers place a delivery order without leaving the live stream or switching to a separate app. Viewers keep watching the game while browsing dishes, applying discounts, and tracking the delivery in real time.

The feature is already live in 690+ cities across India, and the first results have been impressive. More than 37 million users have interacted with the feature this season, turning an experimental integration into a mass-market product.

What’s available on mobile

The entire ordering process is contained within the streaming platform and is aimed primarily at a mobile-first audience, which forms the backbone of cricket broadcasts in India. Users have access to the following options:

• browse nearby restaurants and menus based on location;
• unlock special match-day offers and discounts;
• place an order without switching to a separate app;
• track delivery in real time.

The interface is embedded into the broadcast stream, and switching between watching and ordering happens without disrupting the viewing experience.

The “Match On, Munch On” campaign and its channels

The integration is promoted around the idea of spontaneity and impulse. The Match On, Munch On campaign taps into the very nature of cricket fandom, when a tense over sparks the urge to grab a bite in the moment. Promotional activations span digital channels, TV broadcasts, and built-in in-app touchpoints within the JioHotstar app.

Season records in numbers

Order statistics for the current cricket season reflect the scale of impulse consumption.

• One-time spikes. One of the most striking cases: more than 100 burgers placed in a single transaction became a sign of a new behavior pattern.
• User activity. The season’s top user placed 34 separate orders over the course of the tournament.
• Savings and promos. The maximum recorded savings by a single user on match-day deals totaled 12,947 rupees.
• High order values and speed. The largest single order reached 6,801 rupees, and the fastest delivery time was 10 minutes 42 seconds, clearly highlighting demand for instant gratification.

Burgers have dethroned biryani as match-time food

Biryani’s long-standing lead in rankings of orders during major sporting events came under threat this IPL season. Burgers became the most-ordered match-time dish. The reason is obvious: fast food is easier to share with a group, quicker to eat between overs, and more convenient to hold in one hand while the other is busy with a smartphone. This format perfectly matches the habits of a young mobile-first audience, for whom impulse ordering in a tense moment of play has become almost automatic.

Order leaders among teams and cities

The highest total order volumes came from Mumbai Indians matches, while the biggest single-game spike was recorded in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Rajasthan Royals match. Geographically, the top three markets by engagement were Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Delhi. At the same time, growing markets also showed notable activity, including Patna and Pune.

The growth in food orders during matches correlates with the overall increase in India’s cricket audience. This is evidenced not only by streaming service data, but also by statistics from adjacent industries, especially iGaming. The largest sports betting platforms focused on cricket—such as Megapari, Parimatch, and 1xBet—report a steady inflow of new users over several seasons in a row. According to a review published on one of the niche sites of 1xBet’s mobile cricket betting app, the platform has been gaining popularity for several months. This confirms the broader trend toward mobile-first consumption of sports content. The more people engage with cricket through different entry points, the higher the demand for related services—whether food delivery, analytics, or interactive features within broadcasts.

The boundaries between content and purchase keep blurring

Food ordering is gradually shifting from a parallel activity to an organic part of the viewing experience itself. Built-in functionality allows viewers to make purchases in the moment without breaking their connection with the content.

“We’re moving toward a world where streaming platforms will stop operating in isolation and become integrated environments that anticipate what users want. Engagement now means not only watching, but also taking action in the moment,” said Ishan Chatterjee, CEO of the Sports division at Jiostar.

Why this feels completely natural to viewers

During live broadcasts, fans are already multitasking: messaging, commenting, scrolling through stats. Ordering food during a match has long been a habit—previously it just required a second screen. Now the process has moved into the primary one.

“Ordering food during a match has already become second nature for many viewers. Our partnership with JioHotstar allows fans to enjoy their favorite food and the match at the same time, without missing either,” added Rohit Kapoor, CEO, Swiggy Food Marketplace.

Interactive viewing is moving beyond the experimental stage

Streaming platforms worldwide are increasingly experimenting with commerce scenarios inside content: personalized offers, contextual purchases, and interactive formats. JioHotstar is developing this direction systematically, having already introduced features such as Shop The Look, voice search for content, and interactive viewing modes.

The success of the JioHotstar and Swiggy experiment points to an emerging standard: a sports broadcast on streaming is no longer a passive spectacle and is turning into an ecosystem of quick actions around the event, where the viewer doesn’t just watch from the sidelines but participates in it in real time.