The mega merger between Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Disney Star is poised to significantly disrupt the broadcast landscape in the country - with domestic and global cricket events largely monopolised. This consolidation will impact many established platforms, spanning both linear and digital realms. Notably, Jio Cinema will emerge as the premier digital destination for all cricket content.
When we say 'all cricket,' we mean every conceivable cricket event, ranging from the International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments to the immensely popular Indian Premier League (IPL) and domestic cricket leagues. The linear platforms for such events will be Star Sports, the country's longest-standing sports television channel.
The game-changing alterations could lead to the potential phasing out of Disney Hotstar, a leading digital platform, with its properties seamlessly integrated into Jio Cinema. Specifically, Hotstar's rights of the ICC events will move to Jio Cinema, while Star Sports would continue to broadcast the ICC events as well as the IPL.
Sports 18, the RIL-owned sports television channel that was launched only last year, could face redundancy or be reduced to as a minor player and the properties like India bilateral cricket and the WPL could be on the Star Sports channels.
The changes to take place may need some time as the agreement announced on Wednesday (February 28) between the RIL, Viacom 18 Media Private Limited (Viacom18) and Walt Disney Company will need to pass the test of the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The pact or Joint Venture (JV), which will see Nita Ambani as its chairperson and Uday Shankar, the former head of Star Sports, as vice-chairperson, will also have to get the legal approvals.
For the approvals to come, it may take some time which means the earliest one could see the changes is between 10-12 months. It will be the status quo for the IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup in June with Hotstar and Star Sports showing the World Cup events.
The earliest the change could be affected is by the Champions Trophy next year. The WPL, which is currently on Jio Cinema and Sports 18, will continue to be on Jio Cinema but Star Sports may show the women's matches. It may not be a surprise, if Star Sports is called Jio Star Sports.
When the US-based Walt Disney company announced the signing of binding definitive agreements to form a joint venture, it said the businesses of Viacom18 and Star India will be part of the new JV. "As part of the transaction, the media undertaking of Viacom18 will be merged into Star India Private Limited (SIPL) through a court-approved scheme of arrangement," the Disney release said.
Vitally, the regulatory bodies overseeing cricket properties, like the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC), can rest assured that their partnerships with Jio and Disney Star, respectively, will only strengthen on expanded platforms.
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