Disney-Reliance venture to stream live sports exclusively on Hotstar: Report

While Reliance's JioCinema currently streams IPL cricket, Hotstar holds rights to other prestigious events like the International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, the English Premier League, and the Pro Kabaddi League.

In Short

• Disney-Reliance JV to stream live sports on Hotstar
• Hotstar chosen for superior tech and ad capabilities
• Transition to Hotstar expected by January next year

The newly merged Disney-Reliance joint venture in India will stream all live sporting events exclusively on Disney's Hotstar app, reported news agency Reuters. This includes events like the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket, as well as other major sports events, the report mentioned quoting three sources familiar with the matter.

This marks the first big integration of Disney and Reliance's businesses since their $8.5 billion merger deal was announced earlier this year. The merger has created the largest entertainment company in India, combining 120 TV channels and two major streaming platforms.

While Reliance's JioCinema currently streams IPL cricket, Hotstar holds rights to other prestigious events like the International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, the English Premier League, and the Pro Kabaddi League.

One of the sources revealed that the decision to move all live sports streams to Hotstar was due to the platform's superior back-end technology, which is better suited to handle the large-scale demands of live content. Hotstar is also known for serving targeted ads more effectively than other platforms, making it the preferred choice for Reliance and Disney to stream live sports.

Hotstar’s reputation for smooth streaming has grown, especially in India, where millions of people tune in for live cricket matches. During the finals of the men's cricket World Cup last year, Hotstar set a record with 59 million concurrent viewers, showcasing its capability to manage large-scale live broadcasts without glitches.

Sajith Sivanandan, the head of Hotstar, reportedly held a town-hall meeting to inform staff about the upcoming changes. The transition of live sports streaming from Reliance's app to Hotstar is expected to be completed by January next year. However, it is still unclear whether Hotstar will undergo a rebranding or if both apps, JioCinema and Hotstar, will continue to operate independently for other entertainment content.

While the merger between Disney and Reliance was finalised in February, many details about how the two companies will integrate their services remain uncertain. One of the sources mentioned in the report said that there are still questions about whether both platforms will continue to operate side by side, or if one might eventually be shut down. This uncertainty has left many wondering how the non-sports content on both platforms will be managed going forward.

India's competition regulator approved the Disney-Reliance merger in August after both companies agreed to certain concessions. These included promises not to increase advertising rates unreasonably, which eased concerns about their monopoly over cricket broadcasting rights, a key segment in India’s media landscape.

Reliance’s JioCinema holds the rights to the Winter Olympics, Indian Super League (football), and previously the IPL, while Hotstar has rights to several other cricket tournaments, including those organised by the ICC.