No, JioCinema won’t be the sole streaming platform for Reliance. After the much-anticipated merger of Disney and Reliance, it however will be Disney+Hotstar that will remain the sole streaming platform of the newly merged entity. This means that the IPL 2025 Live Streaming will likely once again return to Disney+Hotstar.
Following the mega-merger of Star India with Viacom18 reports in the media claim that Disney+Hotstar will remain as the sole streaming entity. In fact, JioCinema will itself merge into Disney+Hotstar.
Previously, discussions were made about converting Disney+Hotstar to JioCinema, but then the plan didn’t work. “However, Reliance’s leadership opted to keep Disney+ Hotstar due to its superior tech infrastructure,” a source told Economic Times.
IPL and ISL in Disney+Hotstar?
Initial plans were to keep both the streaming platforms separate for Sports and Entertainment. But now that won’t be the case. In fact the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Indian Super League (ISL). As for the TV broadcast rights of IPL, the games will be telecasted on Star Sports Network.
However, the digital rights were won by Viacom18 during the BCCI Media Rights Sale. And now with JioCinema likely to cease to exist, the Indian Premier League Live Streaming is once again likely to return to Disney+Hotstar.
On the other hand, the same can be said about the Indian Super League as well. After a break of almost 2 years, the ISL Live Streaming is also likely to be back in Disney+Hotstar.