India’s JioCinema broke the world record on Monday for the most simultaneous views of a live-streamed event, a milestone achieved years ago by Disney’s Hotstar when tycoon Mukesh Ambani spared no expense to expand his digital empire.
The Indian streaming app, whose partner includes James Murdoch’s Bodhi Tree-backed Viacom18, surpassed the record on Monday night, drawing 28 million simultaneous viewers to the final match of the 16th edition of the Indian Premier League cricket tournament between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans.
Hotstar had set the previous record, a milestone it maintained for years, when it drew 25.3 million simultaneous viewers to a game of cricket in July 2019. paywall.
Screengrab from the JioCinema website.
Drawing a page from Hotstar’s earlier strategy, Viacom18 appears to be steering its trajectory down a similar path. The Indian entertainment giant, whose largest investor is Ambani’s Reliance, emerged victorious against Disney in a strategic shift last year, securing the digital rights to the hugely popular IPL for a five-year period until 2027.
As part of the streaming strategy, Viacom’s JioCinema app18 will offer free streaming of the tournament to viewers across South Asia, a move that could potentially reshape the region’s digital streaming landscape, analysts say.
More to follow.
