Robert (Bob) Bakish, Paramount Global Chief, has said that Paramount’s Indian Joint Venture Viacom18 is going to launch streaming services in 2023, which will also include the Indian Premier League (IPL), the biggest T20 Cricket League in the world. Along with the new streaming product, Paramount+, the D2C platform of Paramount, will also be launched in India.
Earlier this year, Reliance Industries, Bodhi Tree, and Paramount-backed Viacom18 bid Rs. 23,758 crores to bag the digital media rights for the IPL for the Indian Subcontinent, and also for three global regions – Australia + New Zealand, the UK, and South Africa.
“We have the streaming rights for IPL, that is, India cricket (I assume), a deal that was done by our joint venture in India – Viacom18 – which recently had a transaction where they brought in Bodhi Tree as an investor and Capital Infusion. We obviously have streaming rights in India. It is going to be part of the streaming offering for the Indian market that Viacom18 is going to launch in 2023,” Bob Bakish said in the company’s Q2 earnings call.
About the launch of Paramount+ in India, he said, “We’ve also said that Paramount+ is going to launch with it, as another form of a hard bundle, a tier. And therefore, I am really excited about it because we get the material benefit of cricket, and cricket is at the top of the food chain in India.”
He said that cricket will be a strong engine of growth for Viacom18’s streaming services, and Paramount+ will also benefit from being a part of the bundle. With IPL having a massive viewership across all the regions for which Viacom18 has secured digital media rights, they are looking at promising returns.
The company looks to focus on balancing long-term growth with a smart allocation of capital in markets like India. Paramount is partnering with Viacom18 and Reliance to bring Paramount+ to India.
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