The highly anticipated Viacom18-Disney Star merger continues to be the talk of the town as the arrangement reportedly stands in its latter stages of being affirmed.
The merger is likely to be one of the notable pacts in the industry with the way sports content will be viewed from here on. With the rich sports content obtained by Viacom18 and Disney Star, the merger will become a one-stop destination for global sports content.
Following the merger, sports enthusiasts will be able to pacify their thirst for enthralling sports action at one source as the Indian Premier League (IPL), Indian Super League (ISL), Women’s Premier League (WPL), Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), International Cricket Council (ICC), FIFA, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA), Cricket South Africa (CSA), Premier League (PL), LALIGA, Serie A, Big Bash League (BBL), Ligue 1, SA20, Major League Cricket (MLC), National Basketball Association (NBA), Badminton World Federation (BWF), MotoGP, and International Hockey Federation (FIH), will fall under the solitary roof of Viacom18-Disney Star.
The coalition will also bring together the experience of Disney Star and the technological prowess of JioCinema, which would be the beginning of a new chapter in the sports broadcast industry.
Commenting on the same, Bhairav Shanth, Co-Founder of ITW, said, “If reports are accurate this merger will see the experience of Star who have been long-term broadcasters of Indian Sports and Jio who have brought in great innovation in technology in the last couple of years join forces which augurs well for the viewers predominantly and could be a positive step for the broadcast industry as a whole. We are more likely to see innovation and new technology come in with a broadcaster having the security of a longer term tenure so from a viewer perspective it will have a positive impact.“
JioCinema introduced multiple camera angles in live cricket during the IPL 2023, such offerings will now be coupled with enriching sports content that Disney+ Hotstar will bring in.
With varied content from multiple sports organizations in one bucket, advertisers also wouldn’t have to go places for their sports media buying to fulfil their marketing plans.
With multiple high-octane sports competitions scheduled for the upcoming few years, the merger is likely to be a win-win prospect for stakeholders, advertisers and sports enthusiasts.