MUMBAI: Rhetorical question. Which network or platform is best positioned to exploit a global bid for the upcoming Indian Premier League media rights?
For the record, a global bid would include India territory linear television rights, India territory digital streaming rights and international rights. Now pretty much by all reckoning, the principal protagonists in the upcoming slugfest to claim the title of IPL rights holder for the 2023-2027 cycle are Disney-Star, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and Reliance Jio.
Coming to the original query, hands down it would have to be be Disney-Star. Star India and Disney+ Hotstar (India territory TV and digital) and Disney and ESPN+ (international) make for a formidable combination of competencies.
As for SPNI, while it can take on the best of them where India linear TV rights are concerned, it doesn’t quite cut it on either India digital or international.
Neither can Reliance Jio, whose strong suit is clearly India digital.
Which is why a report filed by BusinessLine that SPNI is in talks with Amazon’s online video streaming arm Prime Video to jointly bid for IPL rights ties up all the loose ends as it were. There is also the proposed merger SPNI and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, the due diligence process for which will reportedly be completed by the end of November, that needs to be factored into the equation.
SPNI + ZEE + Prime Video is a combination that seriously can go “toe-to-toe” with Disney-Star. What ZEE brings to the table is its strong cachet amongst the Indian subcontinent diaspora in international markets. And Amazon’s strength globally in the digital streaming arena do not need recounting.
“Prime Video has been looking to get into this space for a long time now and Sony wants to win the rights back. It looks like both may join hands for the same,” the business daily quotes an industry source as having said.
To BusinessLine’s query on the matter, an Amazon spokesperson said it does “not comment on speculations”. Operative point – there is no outright denial.
