Viacom 18 Sports CEO says there’s No Plan to Charge Subscription for Sports

New Delhi, 11th June 2023: This year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), like previous editions, saw record attendance, with the key difference being that digital viewing was free. Viewers only needed to download the JioCinema app to any device to watch the flagship cricket tournament.

There has been a heated battle for broadcast and digital rights over the last year. Both were owned by Disney Star from 2018 to 22.

However, the rights were split for the next five years (2023-27), with Viacom18, a Reliance Industries business, receiving the digital share and Disney Star settling for the broadcast rights. Viacom18 has now defied convention by transitioning to digital media via JioCinema, its OTT platform.

Viacom18 Sports CEO Anil Jayaraj told Business Today that there are “no plans to charge a subscription fee for sports” on JioCinema.

This certainly reduces subscription revenue and places enormous strain on advertising. He further said, “We have had good results in digital advertising this IPL season and we believe there is still a very large opportunity. For us, the democratisation of advertisers is a big emerging trend.”

The decision to use JioCinema for free was the culmination of a long-term strategy. “We gave unlimited access to anyone who wanted to watch it, with no paywall or subscription,” Jayaraj explains. Additionally, viewers could watch the IPL in groups, resulting in 17 simultaneous broadcasts in 12 languages, including English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Bhojpuri, and Odia. “Long format digital content is a reality today, and with 700 million internet users in India, there is much that can be done.”

Disney+Hotstar, Disney Star’s OTT platform, responded quickly. It was also announced on Friday that the next Asian Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup will be “free of charge to all mobile phone users who access its application.”