The strong price prompted Disney to back out of a bid for Indian Premier League Cricket broadcasting rights, which awarded Viacom18 $2.6 billion.
“We have decided not to pursue the digital rights at the expense of securing this package,” Rebecca Campbell, president of content and international operations for The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement Tuesday. Disney’s Star India service has secured an exclusive TV rights package for the 2023-2027 Indian Premier League cricket seasons for $3 billion.
“We made disciplined deals with a focus on long-term value,” added Campbell, while Disney, like competing media giants, is seeing a sharp rise in streaming rights worldwide. The Disney executive added a TV show to India’s cricket matches, allowing the studio to showcase and sell its own portfolio of TV channels in India, “as well as an impressive collection of original Disney Star content with millions of viewers.” in India”. “
Viacom18 is a joint venture between Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, Paramount Global and Bodhi Tree Systems, an investment firm backed by James Murdoch and Uday Shankar, that seeks online coverage of Indian cricket to increase video subscribers.
Disney is not giving up on broadcasting cricket in the Asian market because it is trying to extend other rights deals. “We will explore other cross-platform cricket rights, including future rights from the International Cricket Board and the Indian Cricket Control Board, which we are currently running in the 2023 and 2024 seasons respectively,” Campbell said.
Disney Star already owns the ProKabaddi League rights, the Indian Super League football rights, as well as other international sporting rights including the Wimbledon Championship and the English Premier League.
“At the same time, we are focused on increasing original entertainment content for Disney+ Hotstar and our television channels in the region,” added Campbell.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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