Star India plans to make Hotstar global to monetize the 5-year deal

After Star India bagged the broadcast rights of BCCI’s cash rich Indian Premier League (IPL) for a whopping sum of Rs 16,345.50 crores for a period of 5 years, they plan to plan to launch their live streaming app/ website Hotstar on the International market to monetize the deal.

According to data from App Annie Inc., an app analytics firm, Hotstar is rated at the numero uno position on the basis of monthly consumption and active users for the past 12 months in India. With the app going global, it would potentially lucrative property for the company,

The broadcast Giants outbid the likes of Sony Pictures Networks (broadcasted the league for 10 seasons previously), Facebook Inc., and Bharti Airtel. With this contract, Star India now has the global rights to broadcast and stream IPL. Which means Star India can stream IPL in seven international regions outside India—Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, South Africa, the UK, the US and the rest of the world.

Hotstar available in International Market- a lucrative opportunity

“We will launch it in a few international markets in the next couple of months,” commented the and chief executive at Star India, Uday Shankar according to Livemint. “Unlike India which is a TV-heavy market, the revenue in international markets will come from digital first,” added the business head (entertainment, sports and live events), at media buying agency GroupM.,Vinit Karnik.

“For a lot of people who travel internationally if they have access to a product like Hotstar, it could be a game changer for the company, given that sports is need-based content and currently absent in most markets even for Indians. And specifically, the IPL should do very well in markets like Australia, New Zealand and the US,”quoted Indranil Das Blah, founding partner at Kwan Entertainment and Marketing Solutions, a sports marketing firm.