As per the latest news, Viacom18 has decided to merge Voot and Jio Cinema prior to IPL 2023 commencement. The auction for IPL media rights (2023-2027) was held last year. Viacom acquired the media rights for a huge amount of Rs. 20,500 crores and will have a single platform for the audience to view matches. One IPL match will cost about Rs 50 crore.
The last year, Jio Cinema offered football fans to watch the FIFA World Cup and the app attracted a viewership of more than 30 million in the finale. Viacom 18-owned Voot provides the audience with content at a subscription fee. On the other hand, Jio Cinema provides diverse content across all the broadcasters absolutely free.
Why is Jio Cinema merging with Voot for IPL streaming?
As per the reports, Viacpom 18’s Voot and Jio Cinema’s merger would help to curb the tech-related, data, and operational costs. Further, the Indian conglomerate also promises to make IPL reach every corner of the country after they bagged the media rights of the league.
Jio Cinema was launched with Jio but now it has merged with Viacom 18 in 2022 after getting approved by the Competition Commission of India. In 2022, IPL was broadcast in six languages namely English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. However, in 2023, Viacom 18 is planning to broadcast the league in 11 or 12 languages to further diversify the broadcasting. Bhojpuri has already been added and besides it Bengali and Gujarati will be there as well.
Jio Cinema is a larger platform than Voot and enjoys more audiences. Voot has only a third of the monthly active users as compared to Jio Cinema. If the merge happens, Voot’s content will be merged with Jio Cinema where an option for a payment plan will be there just like the Voot Select.
In the entire history of IPL, this is the first time that the league will have two different media rights partners. On Television. the match will be broadcasted By Star Sports Network.
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