Monday, 12 June 2023, Bengaluru, India
Following Reliance’s JioCinema-like strategy that helped it draw millions of viewers, Disney’s Hotstar will provide free streaming of cricket events to mobile customers in India.
In the cricket-loving nation, all mobile users will be able to watch the Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup for free thanks to Disney+ Hotstar, which was announced on Friday.
The action was taken shortly after JioCinema surpassed Hotstar’s storied record for concurrent views. Last week, JioCinema surpassed Hotstar’s previous record of 25 million concurrent views by reaching more than 32 million viewers during the 16th season of the Indian Cricket League (IPL) cricket tournament. The new record was helped by Reliance’s platform offering free cricket streaming to its fans.
Sajith Sivanandan, the head of Disney+ Hotstar, stated in a prepared statement, “We believe that making the Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup available to a wider audience will help us grow the overall ecosystem.”
JioCinema acquired the streaming rights to IPL games from Disney+ Hotstar last year for five years ending in 2027. The latter began airing the cricket event for free this year as a result of the change.
JioCinema’s purchase of the IPL’s rights has harmed Hotstar, which has 53 million customers in India, its biggest market. The platform has lost 8.4 million users since last October, with a substantial drop of 4.6 million subscriptions in the quarter that ended in March, according to Disney’s most recent figures.
The parent company of JioCinema, Viacom18, has announced collaborations with Warner Bros. and NBCUniversal to expand the number of films that are accessible on JioCinema’s streaming service. Viacom18 is home to James Murdoch’s Bodhi Tree and counts it among its primary investors. Along with that, JioCinema recently revealed a premium membership that will include foreign content for roughly $12 (999 Indian rupees) each year. Cricket streaming may or may not be a part of the firm’s subscription tier, which has not yet been made explicit by the company.
However, Hotstar’s move to offer free mobile cricket streaming could help the service attract JioCinema’s notice, increase viewership, and bring in some money from local advertising.
[Source: Techcrunch.com]
