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Disney will offer free mobile streaming of the upcoming Cricket World Cup in India, as the US entertainment group battles Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s JioCinema for streaming supremacy.
This year’s World Cup will take place against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Thursday and will continue until November 19. This will be the first time the event will be held in India in more than a decade and is expected to attract hundreds of millions of viewers.
Disney, which exclusively owns the World Cup broadcast and digital rights, hopes the tournament will give it some momentum in India after losing the online rights to the 2023-2027 Indian Premier League to JioCinema last year.
In India, mobile phones are an important viewing platform, but most people don’t own TVs.
JioCinema, a joint venture with Ambani-owned Reliance Industries and investors including James Murdoch, poached viewers from Disney by streaming the IPL for free earlier this year and advertisers, triggering a price war.
Although Disney retains the television rights to the IPL, it continues to lose streaming subscribers. Chief Executive Bob Iger said in July that the company was open to selling its TV assets, and multiple reports suggested that could include a sale of its India operations. Disney declined to comment.
Disney’s decision to make the World Cup available for free on mobile phones highlights the challenges of attracting large audiences in countries with far lower purchasing power than Western markets. The organization has tried hosting the IPL and other cricket tournaments online for free in previous seasons.
However, this year’s World Cup matches coincide with India’s festive season, a two-month stretch of religious festivals including Diwali, which usually helps drive a surge in consumer spending.
“No country is as financially sound as India when it comes to supporting cricket,” said Indian cricket writer Ayaz Memon.
A person familiar with the matter said that Disney hopes to attract an audience of about 800 million people who watched the recent IPL through free mobile streaming and TV broadcasts.
India last won the World Cup in 2011 and are clearly the favorites for this tournament. An early exit could hit Disney and advertisers, causing a sharp drop in domestic interest.
This is different from IPL. “No matter which team is eliminated, the ratings will remain stable,” the person said. “If, God forbid, India is eliminated in the early stages, it will be a huge blow.”
But it will be difficult to surpass the popularity of the IPL. Since its launch in 2008, the IPL has become one of the most profitable sports leagues in the world, thanks in large part to its shorter three-hour matches. The World Cup matches are longer, with each match lasting one day.
Consultancy firm Media Partners Asia estimates advertisers will spend about $300 million on the World Cup, while this year’s IPL will spend about $480 million.
“A lot happens during these 75 days during the festive season,” said Mihir Shah, an analyst at Media Partners Asia. “It’s almost like a carnival and will attract consumer spending.”
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