Leading media & entertainment firm Viacom18 on Saturday said it has bagged streaming and broadcast rights for all domestic and international cricket in India for five years from September 2023 to March 2028 for a consideration of Rs 5,963 crore. The Reliance Industries-controlled media house, which earlier this year disrupted the market by live streaming the IPL matches through its OTT platform JioCinema, was competing with rival media houses such as Star India and Sony for the five-year rights.
The e-auction of media rights was held on August 31.
"Viacom18 secured exclusive Media Rights for the BCCI International and Domestic matches for September 2023-March 2028. The network won both the Indian sub-continent and global television and digital rights for the next five years for a cumulative figure of INR 5,963 crore," said a Viacom18 statement.
Reliance-backed Viacom18 had earlier acquired digital rights for IPL for the 2023-27 cycle for a whopping Rs 20,500 crore.
After acquiring the latest streaming and broadcast rights, Viacom18 said it has become "the new home of Indian Cricket." Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj said: "We are elated about winning the exclusive media rights to BCCI international and domestic matches, and excited at the opportunity to serve fans the best of India cricket across both digital and TV.” According to Jayaraj, live sports consumption in India has sharply pivoted towards digital, and winning the global digital rights will help Viacom 18 fuel this ascendancy.
"Additionally, winning the broadcast rights is an extension of our strategy as we will continue to serve quality and affordable content to all viewers as they continue to migrate from linear TV to digital screens. The landmark rights, therefore, come with a great responsibility of enhancing viewers’ experience of Indian cricket like never before," he added.
This addition of BCCI International and Domestic Cricket includes International Men’s, Women’s matches, and domestic first-class competitions like the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Deodhar Trophy, and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, among others.
The network’s portfolio includes global sports properties like TATA IPL, TATA WPL, Olympics 2024, SA20, Major League Cricket (MLC), Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT), NBA, Diamond League, World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023, MotoGP, LALIGA, Ligue1, Serie A, BGIS (E-Sports), Abu Dhabi T10, FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and top BWF events.
Viacom18 Media has a portfolio of 38 channels across general entertainment, movies, sports, youth, music and kids genres.
Its OTT platform, JioCinema has now emerged as India’s leading streaming services and most popular destination for live sports. It created new viewership records during IPL matches this year.
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