The Indian Premier League 2020 LIVE streaming will come at a premium. Not just for the Disney+ Hotstar subscribers. But also for those expecting to catch the IPL streaming LIVE through their mobile service provider networks.
SportzFront has reported earlier last month that Star India in a strategical move has decided to do away with the free streaming of the IPL LIVE action and other curated content on Disney+ Hotstar. Unlike the last two years, when Hotstar offered a five-minute deferred LIVE feed of the IPL matches. The matches were also available for Jio subscribers without any additional cost.
The 12th edition of the IPL had recorded a record 18.6 million concurrent viewers for the final between Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians. The league overall had recorded over 300 million viewers.
Star India this year has changed its business strategy for Disney+ Hotstar. The IPL host broadcaster is prepared to take a hit on the LIVE streaming audience, resulting in a deficit in the advertisement revenues.
The broadcaster, SportzFront has learnt, has not just decided to do away with the free streaming of IPL on its own OTT services. The mobile network service providers too will have to ensure that the IPL feed is not offered to general subscribers.
Star Sports, according to a senior source privy to the development, has ensured that the mobile service providers will not offer the IPL streaming on the packages lower than the subscription of the Disney+ Hotstar VIP and Disney+ Hotstar Premium. Only the Jio, Airtel subscribers having packages of ₹ 2,000 or above will get access to the IPL Season 13 content on Disney+ Hotstar.
The IPL 2020 will start on Saturday, September 19, when Mumbai Indians will open their title defence against last year’s other finalists Chennai Super Kings.
Star India will broadcast the league opener on Star Gold and regional movie channels in addition to the regular Star Sports network channels. The league will be broadcast and streamed in English, Hindi, Bangla, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The games on the weekends and from the knockout phase onwards will also be broadcast on the select movie and GEC channels.