The newly merged joint venture of Disney and Reliance will have the rights to stream all live sporting events in India. These events such as Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket will be available for viewing on Disney’s Hotstar app, media reports said.
Citing sources in the know, Reuters reported that this marks the first major integration of the businesses post the merger between the two businesses. This also means that Reliance, which controls a majority in the new entity, doesn’t intend to close the Disney platform. However, it remains unclear if there are any plans on rebranding Hotstar.
Notably, the merger worth $8.5 billion was finalised between Disney and Reliance earlier in February. The joint entity marked the establishment of the biggest entertainment company in the country including combined 120 TV channels and two streaming apps. However, no details were disclosed regarding how the new entity would operate after the deal.
Prior to the merger, Reliance’s JioCinema owned the rights to IPL cricket, the Winter Olympics, and the Indian Super League Football. IPL is the most famous event in the country and brings in big bucks for the streamers. Hotstar, on the other hand, has the rights to the International Cricket Council’s tournaments in India, English Premier League soccer, and the domestic Pro Kabbadi League.
The merger received approval from India’s competition regulator in August after the firms provided concessions to help ease the concerns regarding their control on cricket broadcasting rights, such as a commitment to not increase advertising rates unreasonably.
Hotstar head Sajith Sivanandan organised a town hall this week to inform staff about their decision to switch live sports streams from Relaince’s app, the report said citing one of the sources.