Following Indian cricket becomes expensive, after Star, Sony
Following Indian cricket becomes expensive, after Star, Sony: In order to keep up with the sport they love, Indian cricket fans now need to pay for at least three different TV channels or as many as three different OTT services.
ZEE joins the growing number of broadcasters by forming a strategic relationship with Disney Star to broadcast all ICC men’s events for the cycle of 2024–2027. Therefore, viewers also need to subscribe to ZEE TV stations in addition to Star and Sony. Hotstar, SonyLIV, and Voot are the digital streaming services that you can choose from.
Both international and Indian domestic matches are televised on Star’s TV and internet channels. Along with replacing Sony as the IPL’s Australian broadcast partner in 2023, it has also retained the television rights for the tournament. While the England and Wales Cricket Board renewed its media rights arrangement with Sony (TV networks and SonyLIV), Sony renewed its agreement. For the upcoming season, all IPL games will be broadcast on Voot.
Cricket fans will have more viewing options for ICC men’s competitions in the 2024–27 cycle thanks to a strategic collaboration struck on Tuesday between Disney Star and ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. Hotstar will be the go-to digital platform for internet viewers throughout the 2024 and 2026 men’s Twenty20 World Cups, the Champions Trophy in 2025, and the men’s 50-over World Cup in 2027.
Fans of Indian television can catch it all on ZEE. The partnership is a first in the history of Indian cricket.
ICC
The International Cricket Council (ICC) and ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE) have announced that they have entered into a strategic licensing agreement whereby Disney Star will license the television broadcasting rights of ICC Men’s and Under 19 (U-19) global events to ZEE for a period of four years.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has renewed its partnership with Disney Star, making the company’s digital platform Disney+ Hotstar the sole provider of live streaming for all ICC competitions. The ICC has given their preliminary approval for this agreement,” the two organizations announced in a news release.
Statement
According to the statement, “this association enables ZEE to be the exclusive television rights holder of ICC men’s competitions, including the coveted ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024 and 2026, the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy in 2025, and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2027.”
This followed Star’s recently reported $3 billion purchase of the television and digital rights to all global events for the years 2024–2027. Star won the TV rights to the IPL for the cycle of 2023–2027, while Viacom18/Reliance dominated the internet rights.
An estimated $6.2 billion was made from the sale of IPL media rights. However, Star’s strategic collaboration with ZEE has expanded the viewing pool for cricket fans, which might have a favorable effect on subscription packages and helped the firm secure the ICC media rights exclusively for the Indian market at a lower price.
A better analogy would be the way Sky Sports and BT Sport work together to show the Premier League. Sky Sports and BT Sport have partnered to distribute each other’s branded channels in 2019. The MD & CEO of ZEE, Punit Goenka, called it a “first-of-its-kind” in Indian cricket.
This cooperation is unprecedented in India’s media and entertainment industry, and our decision to team up with Disney Star is indicative of the strategic and innovative direction we see the sports industry taking in India. ZEE will use the power of its network to provide a captivating experience for its viewers and a high return on investment for its advertisers, Goenka said in a news statement, making the channel the exclusive television home of ICC men’s cricket tournaments until 2027.
Declaration
“By securing the IPL television broadcast rights for 2023-27 and now opting to retain only the digital rights for ICC tournaments for 2024-27,” Disney Star’s country manager and president K Madhavan said, “we have in place a balanced and robust cricket offering for our audiences across linear and digital.”
Star claims they are doing this to make up for the $3 billion they spent on IPL television rights in India and the rest of the subcontinent. However, the strategic alliance would provide viewers with more freedom of choice.
There will be two Twenty20 World Cups, two World Test Championship finals, a Champions Trophy, and a 50-over World Cup in the ICC men’s schedule between 2024 and 2027. There are two T20 World Cups, a 50-over World Cup, and a T20 Champions Trophy for the ladies. Several T20 World Cups for both men and women are on tap for the U-19 bracket.
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