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On the cricket field, the ongoing India vs England Test series has been one of the most memorable in recent times. Even if the result, an India win, remained the same, the quality of cricket has been outstanding.
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But with just one match to go, attention will quickly turn to the most glamorous event in the Indian cricket calendar; the Indian Premier League (IPL). The fixture list for the first 21 matches has already been released, and the tournament will start at the end of March.
Off the field, a significant piece of news emerged on Wednesday, as media giants Reliance Industries and Walt Disney Company announced they would be undertaking a joint venture.
How will Reliance – Disney merger affect Indian cricket fans?
As per the terms of the merger, the two companies are set to merge their Indian TV and streaming businesses. At present, Reliance’s JioCinema and Disney’s Hotstar are competitors in the streaming industry, as the two biggest players in the market.
As far as sports streaming is concerned, Disney (and earlier, the Star network) had a near-monopoly prior to Reliance coming in.
In 2022, Reliance outbid Star first for the rights to the FIFA World Cup 2022, and then the 2023-27 IPL seasons before also snapping up the rights to broadcast home series of the Indian cricket team.
MORE: Star players who missed out on BCCI central contracts
As they provide online streaming free of cost, Reliance’s entry has led to a mass exodus of customers from Hotstar, meaning the company has suffered a massive loss of income. This merger is seen as a measure for Disney to stop the bleeding. The deal is expected to be completed by the final quarter of 2024, or the first quarter of 2025.
There has been no concrete information so far on the status of both companies’ streaming platforms, but for the time being the status quo is set to be maintained. JioCinema will stream the IPL online, and Star Sports will telecast it. Indian home series will also remain on JioCinema (online) and Sports18 (TV).
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