Viacom18 Catches Digital Rights To Indian Premier League Cricket For $2.6B; Disney’s Star Loses Out But Retains TV Broadcasts

deadline.com:

Viacom18 has bowled out the opposition and caught the sought-after streaming rights to the Indian Premier League cricket tournament.The company paid a cool 205B rupees ($2.6B) for the Indian subcontinent rights, which cover the next five years, according to The Times of India.In a streaming market as competitive as India’s, the online IPL deal will propel the Paramount Global, Reliance Industries and Bodhi Tree Systems-owned company directly into the spotlight and will attract many new subscribers to its services.Meanwhile, Disney-owned Star India has retained rights to the TV broadcasts, paying a whopping 236B rupees ($3B) for the privilege.

The company previously held the streaming rights, which have been seen as a driving factor in Disney+ Hotstar becoming the biggest player in the Indian market.

Losing the online rights is a major blow, but Disney will have consider the cost just too high a price, having paid considerably less for both TV and online in 2017.The deals put the combined value of the Indian subcontinent rights at $5.6B for the 410 matches, which are usually played in April and May.The auction is still taking place and TV and digital rights for the tournament outside India and certain non-exclusive matches are up for grabs.

Bidding is expected to roll into Tuesday and official announcements will follow.Cricket is the national pastime in India, attracting millions of viewers to matches.