IPL to be part of Viacom’s streaming offering to be launched in 2023

Reliance Industries, Bodhi Tree, and Paramount-backed Viacom18 had bid Rs 23,758 crore to bag the digital media rights for the Indian subcontinent. It has also bagged international media rights for the cash-rich league for markets like Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Caribbean, South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, the UK, Ireland, and Continental Europe for Rs 595 crore.

Paramount Global Chief Robert (Bob) Bakish said : It's going to be part of a streaming offering for the Indian market that Viacom18 is going to launch in 2023. We've also said that Paramount+ is going to launch with it essentially as another form of hard bundle, a tier, and therefore we're really excited about it because we get the very material benefit of cricket and cricket is the top of the food chain in India, and so it'll be a real engine for streaming. And then Paramount+ will benefit by being part of that. Even though we're not directly investing on an O&O basis, we're obviously part of the joint venture.

Regarding Paramount+'s India launch, Bakish said, "We've also said that we are going to –Paramount+ is going to launch with it, essentially as another form of hard bundle, a tier. And therefore, we're really excited about it because we get the very material benefit of cricket, and cricket is at the top of the food chain in India."