Disney Star to stream Cricket World Cup free to mobile users

Disney Star, Disney’s Indian streaming operation, is to stream the Cricket World Cup in India free-to-view to mobile users.

The World Cup, which began yesterday, runs until November 19 and this is the first time the event has been held in India. Disney, which is the exclusive rightsholder for broadcast and digital platforms, is looking to its coverage to give it traction with Indian cricket fans following its loss of the Indian Premier League streaming rights for the 2023-27 seasons to rival JioCinema.

JioCinema streamed the IPL free earlier this year, attracting audiences away from rivals.

The World Cup will be televised on the Star Sports network and will be streamed free of charge to mobile users on the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service.

Disney Star has already signed up 26 sponsors for the tournament, including PhonePe, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Dream11, Hindustan Unilever, Coca-Cola, Havells, IndusInd Bank, Pernod India, Booking.com, Peter England, Kingfisher Packaged Drinking Water, Mondelez, Emirates, Diageo, Jindal Panther, MRF Tyres, LendingKart, BPCL, Herbalife, Haier Appliances, AMFI, Google Pay, Polycab, Amul, VIDA by Hero Motorcorp and Amazon.

The company is banking on advertising revenue to justify its move, and will be hoping that India, favourites to win, will remain in the competition to attract a wide domestic audience.

“The ICC World Cup 2023 promises to be an unparalleled cricketing spectacle from a viewers’ interest and advertisers’ participation. We are delighted to have these esteemed brands using this opportunity to get maximum impact and drive growth for their brands or businesses. Disney Star is all set to provide an unmatched cricketing extravaganza with its programming and create a viewing experience for audiences across television and digital platforms, promising unforgettable moments for everyone,” said Ajit Varghese, head of network ad sales at Disney Star.

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