In a stunning development this week, Disney Plus Hotstar lost the digital rights to its main money-spinner – the Indian Premiere League, aka the IPL. After five long years of a monopoly in streaming THE event of the year in India’s cricket calendar, Disney Plus Hotstar finally let go of digital rights to the IPL when it withdrew at the last minute from the breakneck bidding for the IPL streaming rights. Viacom 18 and Reliance’s jointly-owned streamer Voot bagged the digital rights for the IPL. Disney Star managed to retain the TV broadcast rights for the Indian Premiere League.
Streaming rights for the lucrative cricketing spectacle had rested with the streaming giant for the last five years; on the back of which, Disney Plus Hotstar consolidated its position as the numero uno streaming platform in the cluttered Indian OTT space. Barely did Disney Plus Hotstar exit from the IPL digital scene, then industry watchers have already sounded the bugle of its downfall.
Many have speculated that Disney Plus Hotstar could lose as many as 20 million paying subscribers from its 50 million+ subscriber base. Add to it the loss in advertising revenue, and Disney Plus Hotstar is in a bad place, as per entertainment industry trackers.
However, the loss of digital rights could prove to be a blessing in disguise for Disney Plus Hotstar. If we crunch a few numbers, the digital rights for the IPL went for a staggering Rs 20,500 Crore for 5 years. Viacom 18 is paying an additional Rs 3258 Crore for the digital rights of a bouquet of 98 matches over 5 years. Disney honchos have made it clear that the IPL digital rights had simply become too expensive for the company to buy.
And guess what; we agree totally with them.
All that money, Rs 23758 Crore, can be put to much better use at Disney Plus Hotstar. Already, the streamer has taken huge strides in acquiring the post-theatrical streaming rights for buzzy Indian films – Kamal Haasan’s blockbuster hit Vikram, for instance. With so much money left over from their failed IPL digital rights bid, Disney Plus Hotstar have huge capital at their disposal to infuse into making blockbuster shows, buying streaming rights for even more buzzy films, and what not. Even after all this, the platform will have moolah left over to buy digital rights for big ticket sporting events such as the ICC World Cup, and popular tennis and football sporting events.
In our opinion, Disney Plus Hotstar had hit a plateau, as far as IPL-crazy subscribers go. In the five years of holding the IPL digital rights, Hotstar had accumulated as many subscribers as it possibly could. The number wouldn’t have changed much in the next five years only on the back of the IPL.
Disney Plus Hotstar desperately needed a shake-up to capture a new set of subscribers – for whom the IPL isn’t the beginning and the end of their world.
Rs 23758 Crore not spent on the IPL digital rights is Rs 23758 Crore saved – to be used for acquiring a new set of subscribers – of a different demographic, tastes and likes.
Losing the IPL digital rights could well be a blessing in disguise for Disney Plus Hotstar.
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