How to Watch Indian TV in the USA in 2026: Live Channels, JioHotstar, and Cricket

In New Jersey, jiohotstar.com doesn’t show Star Plus serials or Hindi film premieres. It shows a region notice instead, because JioHotstar’s first international launch went to the UK, Canada, and Singapore and left the US out. ZEE5 and SonyLIV do sell American subscriptions, but their US apps offer different catalogs from the versions in India.

Indian streaming apps decide what to show from your IP address. Connect your laptop or TV to a VPN server in India, and JioHotstar sees an Indian IP address, so its Indian catalog and live channels appear as they would at home. A VPN can’t do everything.

JioHotstar still requires an Indian mobile number at sign-up, and several Indian channels are already on US TV packages, with no VPN involved. Here’s how to get both onto a US screen.

Watching Indian TV in the US With a VPN

Connect to a server in India, then open the Indian app or website. The app reads your Indian IP address and switches to its Indian catalog and live channels.

In our October tests, NordVPN, Proton VPN, and ExpressVPN unblocked the Indian versions of JioHotstar, SonyLIV, and ZEE5 on their Indian servers, and none of the three apps detected the VPN.

On a smart TV or Fire TV Stick, connect the VPN before you launch the streaming app, since Indian apps check your IP address when they start.

Indian TV Services With US Plans

Several services sell Indian channels on US plans, and they work in the US without a VPN:

• Sling TV: Desi packs for Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Urdu, Punjabi, Marathi, and Bangla channels, some with Willow cricket included.
• YuppTV: advertises more than 250 live Indian channels.
• ZEE5 Global: Zee films, originals, and live channels on monthly and yearly US plans.
• SonyLIV: about $8 a month or about $50 a year in its own app, and also sold as a channel on YouTube.
• Zee Family: Zee TV, &TV, Zee Cinema, and regional Zee channels for about $15 a month on YouTube TV, on its own or added to a base plan, and on Fubo.
• Spectrum India View: a Spectrum package with Zee channels.
• aha and Hoichoi: Telugu and Tamil shows on aha, Bengali shows on Hoichoi, with US pricing.
• WAVES: the free app from Prasar Bharati, India’s public broadcaster, listed in the US App Store.

For a handful of channels, these services come with US billing and support. Be wary of IPTV boxes that promise thousands of Indian channels for a one-time fee, since most aren’t licensed and can stop working without notice. JioHotstar and the India-only catalogs of SonyLIV and ZEE5 are a different matter.

What Still Requires an Indian IP Address

JioHotstar has no US version. Its international apps launched only in Britain, Canada, and Singapore, and even those leave out live sports. The old Hotstar US app closed in 2021, when its shows moved to Hulu and its cricket to ESPN+.

On an Indian server, the VPN unblocked JioHotstar as it appears in India, live channels and cricket included. Netflix and Prime Video are different. Their Indian originals usually come out worldwide: Prime Video’s Mirzapur Season 3, for example, premiered in 240 countries and territories.

Licensed Bollywood and regional films vary by country, and some appear only with an Indian IP address. Our list of VPNs for Prime Video shows which ones unblock other regions.

Indian Accounts and Payments

JioHotstar sign-up requires an Indian mobile number and a one-time code, and payment goes through UPI, an Indian card, or net banking. Foreign cards often fail, and a US number won’t register, so JioHotstar is easiest for viewers who already pay for it in India.

Those viewers can sign in with the same account from the US. The Premium plan supports four devices, and the Super plan supports two. SonyLIV registers each account to one country, so decide which catalog you want before you sign up. Its US plan accepts US cards, PayPal, and app store billing.

Cricket, Serials, and the Time Difference

In the US, live cricket comes through Willow, which has US rights to ICC events through 2027 and streamed IPL 2026. A direct subscription is about $10 a month, and Willow is also part of packages on Sling TV, Prime Video, YouTube TV, and Fubo.

A free Willow channel is on Prime Video, Sling Freestream, and Plex. In India, JioHotstar streams the IPL, India’s home internationals, and ICC events, with commentary in Hindi and regional languages, and an Indian server unblocks that coverage.

India doesn’t use daylight saving time. From March to early November, it’s 9.5 hours ahead of Eastern time and 12.5 hours ahead of Pacific, and after US clocks go back on the first Sunday in November, the difference grows to 10.5 and 13.5 hours.

During US daylight saving time, that puts Indian prime time here:

• IPL night matches (7:30 p.m. IST): 10 a.m. ET, 7 a.m. PT
• Afternoon IPL games on double-header days: 6 a.m. ET
• Prime-time serials: late morning to early afternoon ET, morning PT

Best VPNs for Indian TV in the USA

These three VPNs unblocked the three Indian apps on their own Indian servers. India is a long way from the US, so if a stream buffers, switch to another Indian server before changing anything else. For using a VPN in India itself, see our best VPNs for India.

1. NordVPN: Best Overall for Indian Channels

NordVPN lists one Indian location, Mumbai, and SonyLIV, ZEE5, and JioHotstar unblocked their Indian catalogs on it. The Mumbai server cost us a 10.2% speed loss, leaving more than enough for HD. Split tunneling, which lets chosen apps skip the VPN, keeps your US banking or Netflix app off the VPN while the Indian apps go through Mumbai.

For the living room, NordVPN has apps for Fire TV Stick and Android TV, and our smart TV VPN guide covers sets without app support. Type India into the search box instead of scrolling the server list, and the app connects to Mumbai almost at once.

That makes switching between a US evening of Netflix and an Indian serial a quick change.

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2. Proton VPN: Best for Privacy With an Indian IP Address

Proton VPN unblocked ZEE5, SonyLIV, and JioHotstar on its Mumbai server, and the streams ran smoothly. At busy times in India, a stream can slow down, so lower the quality to HD or move to another Indian server. Indian servers come with the VPN Plus plan, since Proton VPN’s free version offers no India location.

Profiles save the India connection, so the app reconnects to Mumbai in one click each evening. On a TV, the Android TV app has a big-screen layout you can run with the remote, which keeps the phone out of the routine.

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3. ExpressVPN: Best for Two Indian Server Locations

ExpressVPN lists two India locations: India (via UK) and India (via Singapore). I tested JioHotstar, SonyLIV, and ZEE5 on both, and each location unblocked them. The UK one caused only a 4.0% speed loss, too small to affect an HD stream. From the US, connect to each once and keep whichever loads your shows faster.

The app keeps things simple, and the Automatic protocol setting can stay as it is. Its Fire TV and Apple TV apps follow the same layout as the phone app, so moving Indian TV to the big screen takes no relearning. Before the first term ends, look through our ExpressVPN coupons for a lower price on the next one.

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If an Indian App Still Won’t Play

Most errors clear up with one of these fixes:

• Clear cookies and cache, then reload the app or website.
• Switch to another Indian server, or to ExpressVPN’s other India location.
• Check your IP address on a lookup site to confirm it shows India.
• Sign out and sign back in after the VPN connects.

A VPN won’t fix payment errors, which come from the card or UPI check, so the server location doesn’t affect them.

Final Thoughts

JioHotstar still has no US app, so an Indian IP address remains the only way to watch it from America. The method takes a few minutes: connect to an Indian server, open JioHotstar, SonyLIV, or ZEE5, and log in to your Indian account.

For a few Zee or Sony channels, Sling TV, YouTube TV’s Zee Family, and SonyLIV’s US plan cover the basics with no VPN, and Willow streams live cricket. Our pick for the Indian apps is NordVPN, with its Mumbai server, TV apps, and split tunneling for your US apps.

One tip before match day: sign in to JioHotstar on the TV with the VPN connected a day early, since the login code goes to an Indian number that may be slow to arrive. If you travel beyond the US, the same steps work for watching Indian TV abroad.

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