Mukesh Ambani-led Viacom18’s decision to stream the Indian Premier League (IPL) for free on JioCinema will significantly increase the platform’s subscriber base and may help it compete with the likes of YouTube India and Facebook in the digital video advertising market.
Viacom 18 is reportedly planning to stream IPL games for free on JioCinema after acquiring the digital streaming rights for the marquee cricket tournament for a whopping INR 23,758 Cr. Its competitor, Disney Star, which previously held the digital rights to the IPL, hosted the cricket tournament behind a paywall. According to Elara Capital, the move will propel JioCinema’s subscriber base to new heights and enable it to compete with the likes of YouTube India, which has 520 million monthly average users (MAU).