By Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Reliance-Disney joint venture will no longer offer completely free streaming for IPL cricket matches and will adopt a hybrid model where subscription kicks in after content consumption reaches a threshold, three sources told Reuters on Thursday.
The entity will also launch a new rebranded streaming app, with plans starting at 149 rupees, said the first source.
The decision to change the terms of streaming the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s richest cricket league, comes after Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance and Walt Disney combined their India media assets in an $8.5 billion merger last year.
JioCinema has allowed free IPL streaming since securing the rights for the popular tournament for five years, beginning in 2023 for $3 billion.
Now, all streaming content, including IPL, will shift to a hybrid model where free viewing will be offered for a while, and then users will need to take subscriptions depending on their consumption patterns, said two of the sources with direct knowledge.
“Once a user develops affinity to the platform, start watching free, becomes loyal … the subscription will kick in then,” said the first source, adding that each user’s subscription could start at a different point of time.
The sources declined to be named as the plans are confidential.
Reliance, which controls the joint venture, did not respond to requests for comment.
The joint venture entity’s streaming offering will be available on a new rebranded app, which will offer a basic plan starting 149 rupees ($1.72) and an ad-free version for 499 rupees ($5.75) for three months, said the first source.
The Reliance-Disney venture runs more than 100 TV channels and streaming apps in India’s $28-billion media and entertainment market, where it also competes with Netflix and Amazon Prime, among others.
JioCinema had the rights to IPL cricket, a money-spinner and among the most-streamed content, as well as to the Winter Olympics and Indian Super League football. Disney’s Hotstar app had the rights to the International Cricket Council’s tournaments in India and English Premier League soccer.
Key decisions at the entity are being taken by Vice Chairman Uday Shankar, a media industry veteran who in his previous roles was instrumental in the rise of Disney’s Hotstar streaming app.
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; additional reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)
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