Disney, Sony, ViacomCBS View Indian Cricket as Streaming Prize

Walt Disney Co.

,

Sony

Footage Networks India and Viacom18—a three way partnership between

ViacomCBS Inc.

VIAC 1.56%

and

Reliance Industries Ltd.

500325 1.64%

—are amongst firms planning to bid for the rights, stated folks concerned within the bidding course of. The monthlong public sale is anticipated to conclude by late March, the folks stated.

Cricket broadcasts are a significant lure for India’s sizable inhabitants of potential streaming subscribers. The public sale comes as leisure streaming firms are below strain so as to add clients past the U.S. as development has slowed domestically.

Disney,

DIS -0.02%

which presently holds the published and streaming rights, faces a probably steep rise in the price to retain them. The corporate has stated the cricket matches are an necessary driver of worldwide subscriptions for its Disney+ streaming service.

For the approaching public sale, suitors are getting ready bids of round 400 billion rupees, or greater than $5 billion, in response to folks conversant in the bidding course of.

Indian authorities award cricket broadcasting rights each 5 years. In 2017, broadcaster Star India, then majority-owned by twenty first Century Fox, beat out opponents together with Fb Inc. and Sony Footage Networks with a $2.5 billion bid that included each digital streaming and tv broadcast rights.

In 2019, Disney acquired Star India, together with dozens of sports activities and entertainment-focused TV channels and its streaming service Hotstar—which has since been rebranded Disney+ Hotstar—as a part of its $71 billion deal for a few of twenty first Century Fox’s property.

Disney plans to bid to retain management of the rights, in response to folks conversant in the corporate’s plans. Different probably opponents embrace Sony Footage Networks India, a subsidiary of Sony Footage Leisure Inc., in response to an individual conversant in the matter.

A spokeswoman for Sony Footage Networks India stated the corporate is evaluating bidding for broadcast and digital rights. In December, Sony Footage Networks India stated it was merging its property with Zee Leisure Enterprises Ltd.

One other probably bidder is Viacom18, a three way partnership between ViacomCBS and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, stated folks conversant in the matter. Viacom18 is in talks to promote a stake to a partnership of Indian media govt

Uday Shankar

and Lupa Techniques, a media funding agency based by

James Murdoch,

former twenty first Century Fox chief govt and son of Fox Corp. Chairman

Rupert Murdoch,

in response to folks conversant in the matter. The elder Mr. Murdoch can also be govt chairman of Information Corp, which owns The Wall Avenue Journal.

Representatives for Viacom18 and for James Murdoch had no instant remark. A possible deal between Viacom18 and Lupa Techniques was beforehand reported by India’s Financial Instances.

Mr. Shankar is the previous chairman and chief govt of Star India and till 2020 served as Disney’s Asia Pacific head. If the partnership with Lupa and Viacom18 had been to win the cricket rights, it will mark a return for Mr. Shankar to an asset that he initially received for his former employer in 2017.

Disney has stated it hopes to hit 260 million Disney+ subscribers throughout the globe by the top of fiscal 2024, or greater than double its present complete variety of subscribers. It ended September with 118.1 million subscribers.

Sports activities rights have turn out to be a scorching commodity in recent times amongst firms that function video-streaming companies.

Amazon.com Inc.

struck a deal final 12 months to incorporate Nationwide Soccer League video games on its Prime Video service, a pact that introduced extra video games to a tech firm and not using a conventional TV community. Reside video games are a significant promoting level for NBCUniversal’s Peacock service and ViacomCBS’s Paramount+ service. The NFL can also be exploring choices for its Sunday Ticket package deal of video games, that are presently obtainable on DirecTV.

The rising worth for the rights to broadcast cricket may be a deterrent for Disney, nonetheless, as every Hotstar subscription generates about $1 in income a month, in contrast with between $5 to $6 in month-to-month income generated by every U.S. Disney+ subscription, stated

Doug Creutz,

a media analyst with Cowen & Co.

“Cricket is a large draw for subscriptions in India, that are a reasonably vital minority of the Disney+ subscription base, however 5 billion {dollars} is some huge cash,” Mr. Creutz stated. “That will pay for lots of episodes of ‘The Mandalorian.’ That’s cash that may very well be spent elsewhere in an try to draw non-Hotstar subscriptions which can be extra worthwhile.”

Video-streaming chief

Netflix Inc.

NFLX 0.36%

and Amazon’s Prime streaming service have additionally seemed to India for subscriber development. In December, Netflix slashed the price of its fundamental plan in India by 60% to 199 rupees, equal to $2.66 a month. On an earnings name in January, Netflix Co-Chief Government

Reed Hastings

acknowledged frustration with the Indian market, including that the service was “leaning in” there.

Write to Robbie Whelan at robbie.whelan@wsj.com and Benjamin Mullin at Benjamin.Mullin@wsj.com