How To Watch PKL in The USA (2026 Guide)

If you’ve been trying to stream Pro Kabaddi League matches from the US, you already know the frustration. You search for it on YouTube TV, Sling, Hulu Live, FuboTV… nothing. 

PKL simply doesn’t exist on any American streaming platform or cable channel in 2026.

That’s a problem for the large number of kabaddi fans living here. The sport has a massive following in India (PKL is their second biggest league after the IPL), and a lot of that audience has moved to or grown up in the United States. Yet when match day comes around, there’s no way to just flip on a channel and watch.

The good news? You can still watch it. It takes a little more effort than tuning into an NFL game on ESPN, but once you set things up, the experience is smooth. I’ll walk you through what actually works below.

Is PKL Available on Any US Channel?

The short answer is No, due to broadcasting rights. JioStar (the company formerly known as Star India) owns the rights to air PKL. They broadcast it on Star Sports channels in India and stream it through JioHotstar online. Neither of those platforms operates in the American market.

Compare that to cricket. Indian Premier League fans in the US can watch through Willow TV, which holds dedicated American broadcast rights. Sling TV even bundles Willow into some of its packages. 

You can find a lot of guides on watching cricket in the USA. But kabaddi? Nobody has picked up those rights for the US market yet. Maybe that changes in a few years as the sport grows here, but for now, PKL is only officially available inside India.

With Season 12 delivering a 3X jump in digital reach and 936 million video views across social platforms, demand for PKL streaming outside India is at an all-time high. US-based fans tracking squad changes, auction updates, and the full fixture calendar for PKL Season 13 can stay ahead of the action before the broadcast window opens later this year. Whether you plan to stream through JioHotstar’s international access or a licensed US sports network, locking in your streaming setup early ensures you never miss a raid once the season tips off in December 2026.

Watch Pro Kabaddi League on Willow TV

Willow TV did carry PKL during Season 10 in 2023, giving US fans a legitimate way to watch live matches through cable and satellite providers. However, that deal was not renewed. Seasons 11 and 12 had no American broadcast partner at all, and nothing has been announced for Season 13. 

Some sources mention ESPN+ as a possibility, but no confirmed deal exists. Willow’s current lineup is almost entirely cricket. Until a new US rights agreement materializes, pairing a VPN with JioHotstar remains the only way to stream complete PKL matches from the States.

How to Watch PKL Using a VPN?

Right now, this is really the only option if you want to watch complete PKL matches live. Everything else (apps, YouTube, social media) only gives you highlights and scores after the fact.

JioHotstar streams every PKL match in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. The coverage is thorough. The problem, again, is that it won’t work from the US without a VPN.

A VPN masks your real IP address and replaces it with one from whatever country you choose. Pick an Indian server, and JioHotstar thinks you’re sitting in Mumbai or Delhi. Once that’s done, the geo-block goes away, and you can stream as if you were in India.

Which VPN Should You Use?

Not all VPNs can get past JioHotstar’s detection. The platform has gotten aggressive about blocking VPN traffic over the past couple of years, and most free VPNs don’t even have servers in India. So those are out.

From what I’ve seen and what users in streaming forums consistently report, three paid options work well in 2026: NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark. 

NordVPN tends to get the most recommendations because its virtual Indian servers (routed through Mumbai) have been reliable for months. Surfshark is the cheapest of the three, which matters if budget is a concern. ExpressVPN sits in between.

If you want a more detailed comparison of VPN services across different devices, check out our VPNs for Smart TV guide.

How to Set Up Jio Hotstar?

Once you’ve picked your VPN, the rest is fairly quick. I’ll give you an example of ExpressVPN: 

Step 1. Install the VPN app on whatever device you plan to use. Could be your laptop, your phone, a Fire TV Stick, whatever. 

Step 2. Open it, find India in the server list, and connect. That usually takes under ten seconds.

Step 3. Then go to jiohotstar.com in a browser or launch the JioHotstar app if you already have it installed. With the VPN running, the Indian content library should show up. 

Step 4. Search for “Pro Kabaddi” and you’ll find live matches (when the season is active), replays, and highlight reels.

You do need a JioHotstar subscription, though. They let you preview the first five minutes of a live match without paying, but after that, the stream cuts off and asks you to subscribe.

How to Pay for a JioHotstar Subscription?

Subscribing from the US isn’t always smooth because JioHotstar’s sign-up process assumes you’re an Indian user. It usually requires an Indian phone number to send a verification code.

People get around this in a few different ways. Logging in through your Apple ID or Facebook account sometimes avoids the phone verification step entirely. Some fans ask relatives or friends in India to create the account for them and share the credentials. 

Others have used services like Wise to transfer a small payment to someone in India who handles the subscription. It’s not ideal, but one of these workarounds usually gets the job done.

How Much Does JioHotstar Cost?

JioHotstar revamped its pricing in January 2026 and introduced monthly plans for the first time. The rates are in Indian Rupees, so they end up being very affordable in dollar terms:

The Mobile plan is absurdly cheap at under a dollar a month, and it’s fine if you’re just going to watch on your phone. 

Upgrade to Super if you want sharper video on two devices, or go Premium if you care about 4K and want to stream on a TV. Both Mobile and Super tiers come with ads. Premium removes ads from regular content, though live sports still carry them on every tier.

How to Watch PKL on Different Devices?

Nobody really wants to watch a high-energy kabaddi match on a tiny laptop screen when there’s a perfectly good TV in the living room. The good thing is, most TVs sold in recent years can run JioHotstar one way or another.

Android TV and Fire TV Stick are the most hassle-free options here. Go to the Google Play Store or Amazon App Store on your device, download NordVPN or Surfshark, and connect to an Indian server. After that, search the Play Store for the JioHotstar app. 

Fair warning though: the app sometimes doesn’t appear in search results unless you switch your Play Store country to India first. Once you have both apps installed and the VPN is active, open JioHotstar, sign in, and the PKL stream should load right on your TV.

Samsung, LG, and similar Smart TVs are trickier. These operating systems (Tizen, webOS) do not support VPN apps at all, so you have to work around that limitation. One way is to set up the VPN at the router level. When your router itself connects through an Indian VPN server, every device on your home Wi-Fi picks up that connection automatically, including your Smart TV. 

NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark all have router setup guides on their support pages. The other way, which honestly most people find easier, is screen mirroring. Open the VPN on your phone, start the JioHotstar stream there, and then cast it to the TV using Chromecast, AirPlay, or a regular HDMI cable.

Now, a question that comes up a lot: Is this legal? In the US, yes. There is no law against using a VPN. Where it gets a little grey is that JioHotstar’s terms of service say the platform is meant for Indian users, so using a VPN to access it from abroad could violate those terms. But that is a policy matter between you and the platform, not a criminal issue. We covered this topic in detail in our article on VPN legality for streaming.

The PKL App: Free Highlights and Match Updates

Not every kabaddi fan needs to watch full matches. Plenty of people just want to know who won, see the top raids from the night, and move on with their day. That’s exactly what the official Pro Kabaddi app is built for.

You can find it by searching “Pro Kabaddi Official App” on either the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store. It is published by Mashal Sports Private Limited, the same organization behind the league itself. Inside the app, you get video highlights showing the big moments from recent matches, ball-by-ball (or rather, raid-by-raid) score updates during live games, season standings and upcoming fixture schedules, detailed stat pages for individual players across all 12 teams, and content from auction events, player interviews, and training camps.

One thing you should know before downloading: the app was designed for fans in India. Because of that, certain videos and features inside the app might be blocked or just not load when you open it from a US connection. Some sections can look completely empty. If you run into that, turning on a VPN set to India before launching the app tends to fix it.

Keep in mind that the app does not stream live matches from start to finish. You still need JioHotstar for that. But for keeping tabs on the league when you are busy or just want a quick recap, having it on your phone is genuinely useful, and it’s free.

YouTube and Social Media for Casual Fans

Here is something a lot of people overlook: PKL has an official YouTube channel, and the highlights they post there are available worldwide. No VPN, no subscription, no tricks. They upload recap packages after each game, usually within a few hours of the match finishing.

Their social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) are also active during the season. You will find short clips of big raids, tackle compilations, player reactions after matches, and behind-the-scenes moments from team camps. The quality of these clips has improved a lot over the past couple of seasons.

What’s Coming in PKL Season 13

Dabang Delhi K.C. are the reigning champions heading into the new season. They beat Puneri Paltan 31-28 in a close final at Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium in Delhi to claim their second PKL title. What made it more special for Delhi fans was that it happened on home soil. Before them, the last team to pull that off was U Mumba all the way back in Season 2.

The franchise lineup stays the same for Season 13. Delhi, Puneri Paltan, Patna Pirates, Jaipur Pink Panthers, U Mumba, Bengaluru Bulls, Bengal Warriorz, Haryana Steelers, Telugu Titans, Tamil Thalaivas, Gujarat Giants, and U.P. Yoddha are all coming back.

Squad compositions will change significantly though because the mega auction is expected between July and August 2026. That is where franchises spend big money to pick up star raiders and defenders, and several rosters could look very different by the time Season 13 actually starts. Speaking of which, Mashal Sports has not released official dates for the league stage yet. Based on how previous seasons have been scheduled, October to December seems like the likely window. Star Sports and JioHotstar should continue as the broadcasters since the existing rights deal covers this season.

More Guides for Watching Sports From the USA

We’ve written similar guides for other sports that are hard to access from the States. If you also follow the IPL, our article on watching IPL live in the USA covers Willow TV, Sling TV cricket packages, and other options that are available without needing a VPN. Australian Rules Football fans can check out our AFL in the USA guide, which uses a VPN approach similar to what we described above for PKL.

And if you’re rethinking your overall TV and streaming setup, take a look at our comparison of alternatives to cable TV or browse through some IPTV free trials to see what’s available right now.

All Your Options at a Glance

Here are all your options for watching Pro Kabaddi League 

Bottom Line: Watch PKL from the USA on JioHostar using a VPN

PKL doesn’t have a US broadcast partner yet, and that’s unlikely to change before Season 13 kicks off. The sport is growing in North America, though. The USA Kabaddi Association has been pushing for wider recognition, and a franchise-based Kabaddi Pro League for the US and Canada was announced earlier this year.

Until a proper American broadcast deal materializes, pairing a VPN with JioHotstar gives you full access to live PKL action for roughly $3 to $5 a month combined. That’s cheaper than a single month of most streaming platforms in the US market.

If spending money isn’t something you want to do, the PKL app and YouTube keep you connected to the league without costing a rupee.