Cricket enthusiasts are awaiting the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2023. Viacom18 will live broadcast the IPL 2023 Season 16, which makes this year’s IPL more exciting. Having acquired the digital broadcasting rights to the IPL, Viacom18-Reliance will stream the IPL 2023 live on the Jio Cinema App.
The Indian Premier League’s (IPL) reputation keeps getting better with each passing year. Even though it will be advantageous for the BCCI and, consequently, Indian Cricket, broadcasters are prepared to take advantage of every opportunity that arises as the event gets bigger and better with each passing year.
According to media reports, Viacom 18 will launch an IPL 2023 live stream in Bhojpuri in an effort to accomplish reach the masses. It should be noted that this will be the first time the IPL has a separate digital streaming and broadcast media partner.
Even while Star Sports Network will still own the broadcast rights, Viacom 18 outbid Star for the rights to digital streaming, and it is they who now intend to offer feed in 11 other languages. Only six languages—Hindi, English, Kannada, Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil—were offered for live streaming of past seasons of the Indian Premier League.
Reach of 500+ million subscribers
The IPL 2023 will be broadcast live this year in Bhojpuri, the second most popular language in India, according to Viacom18.
“They (Viacom 18) are playing on reach and mass. They claim to reach 500+ million subscribers and no match is behind any paywall. They want to connect with newer advertisers who have always aspired to be associated with IPL but did not have the means. Also, the legacy brands will nevertheless continue their association,” a senior media planner told e4M as quoted by Inside Sport.
Different strategies for pulling in advertisers
The IPL will have two different media rights partners for the first time this year. IPL 2023 will be live-streamed by Viacom18 and broadcast by STAR Sports Network.
According to a report by E4M, the streaming partner also intends to use a different approach this year to attract sponsors for the season. Viacom18 intends to sell its inventory exactly as it is offered on TV rather than selling inventory based on AD-Impressions.
The media behemoth will offer standalone inventory and sponsorship packages in 10-second slots. In comparison to Disney+ Hotstar, they have also reduced the cost of inventory and sponsorship packages, the report claims.
“They are playing on reach and mass. They claim to reach 500+ million subscribers and no match is behind any paywall. They want to connect with newer advertisers who have always aspired to be associated with IPL but did not have the means. Also, the legacy brands will nevertheless continue their association,” a senior media planner told e4M.
