JioCinema, owned by Reliance, will begin airing home cricket matches of the Indian cricket team using its free playbook. The media company yesterday announced it will stream India’s three-match ODI home series against Australia for free.
The India-Australia matches will be the first international series to be shown on JioCinema in the current rights cycle. The OTT platform will broadcast the games in 11 different languages and has assembled an expert panel that includes Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, Aakash Chopra, Amit Mishra, Hanuma Vihari, Kiran More, Anirudha Srikanth and Sarandeep Singh, among others, Economic Times reported yesterday.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had granted Viacom18, a Reliance Industries joint venture, exclusive media rights for domestic and international matches for a total sum of Rs 5,963 crore over the next five years for the period September 2023 to March 2028.
Viacom18 outbid Sony Pictures Networks India for the BCCI media rights, paying Rs 67.8 crore per match, while Disney Star reportedly opted out of the auction.
The India-Australia ODI series, beginning on September 22, will be streamed in 4K on JioCinema.