Acting on expected lines, Viacom18 is reportedly set to merge its flagship OTT platform Voot with JioCinema ahead of 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League.
Viacom18 holds exclusive streaming rights for the IPL.
The combined OTT is also likely to go for a re-branding ahead of the airing of the league, The Hindu Businessline, quoting sources, reports.
Viacom18 had acquired the digital rights for IPL 2023-27 for Rs 20,500 crore. It dabbled with live-streaming of sports exclusively on JioCinema with the airing of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
JioCinema was launched under Jio Platform, Reliance’s holding company for its leading telco – Reliance Jio. The Competition Comission of India had approved JioCinema’s merger with Viacom on September 2022.
While Voot primarily showcases Viacom18’s television properties, JioCinema is more of an aggregator of content across all broadcasters and is currently free-to-air.
While announcing Reliance’s Q3FY23 financial results, it was declared that the FIFA World Cup stream on JioCinema garnered a total viewership of 114 million across 64 matches.
