Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL’s) entertainment arm Viacom18 is looking to aggressively invest in movie rights and original content for its OTT platform, according to the company’s CMD Mukesh Ambani, who spoke at the company’s annual general meeting on Monday (August 29).
Ambani stated that Viacom18 has “consolidated its leadership position with a high-decibel entry into sports” by acquiring the digital rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the next five years. Viacom18 won the digital rights to the marquee cricket tournament for INR 20,500 Cr ($2.57 Bn) in June, defeating Disney-Star. According to a recent JM Financial report, Viacom18’s OTT platform, Voot, will become a leading player in the Indian market and will be able to break even in 2027 due to IPL viewership.