The recent merger of Disney and Reliance has led to significant changes in how live sports will be streamed in India. This new collaboration prioritizes Disney's Hotstar app for all live sporting events, including the highly popular Indian Premier League cricket. This decision has emerged from sources close to the situation, signaling a shift in the broadcast landscape. With Reliance now holding a majority stake in the joint venture, it appears they intend to maintain the Disney platform, although the potential for a rebranding of Hotstar remains uncertain. Both companies have refrained from providing public comments regarding this new direction.
Earlier this year, the two firms consolidated their media assets in a substantial merger valued at $8.5 billion, creating an impressive entertainment powerhouse with a combined portfolio that includes 120 television channels alongside two streaming services. Currently, Reliance's JioCinema owns rights to popular events such as IPL cricket and the Winter Olympics, while Hotstar boasts rights to major tournaments like the International Cricket Council's events and the English Premier League soccer. As part of the transition, Hotstar's leadership recently addressed staff to discuss the upcoming changes related to live sports streaming, opting to focus all such content on their platform.
The rationale for this decision is attributed to Hotstar's superior technology in managing live broadcasts effectively, especially in terms of delivering targeted advertising. Plans are in place to wrap up this transition by January. However, it remains unclear how the content from both platforms will be mutually integrated, specifically regarding the continuation of two separate apps. Approval for the merger was granted by India's competition regulator after the companies took steps to alleviate concerns related to their influence over cricket broadcasting rights, including pledges not to raise advertising prices excessively.
Hotstar is well-recognized for its ability to deliver live content seamlessly in a cricket-crazed nation, achieving record viewership figures, such as 59 million concurrent viewers during the men's World Cup final last year.