World T20: Is ban on online gaming squeezing broadcast purse strings?

The mega broadcast deals, which had been the golden egg laying goose for cricket since the turn of the millennium, are now showing the signs of an overheated market. A media report on streaming giants JioHotstar, which became a joint venture last year, planning a premature exit from the three-year media rights deal of ICC properties has thrown the telecast of the upcoming T20 World Cup early next year in jeopardy.

 A report in The Economic Times on Monday says that JioHotstar’s hands are being forced as their losses from the ICC deal are expected to double from Rs 12, 319 crores in 2023-24 to an estimated figure of Rs 25,760 crores – with the World T20 last year in the US and Caribbean and the ICC Champions Trophy resulting in huge losses for the broadcasters.  Any eventual pullout of the conglomerate, who had signed a $ 3 billion deal with the ICC for the 2024-27 cycle, will also send out a poor signal about the marketability of the sport.

While no official statement has been forthcoming on a high stakes issue as this, JioHotstar – who enjoy a near monopolistic lease of the cricket broadcast pie – has already issued a notice to ICC regarding their current position on the media rights. The Dubai-based world governing body has already started to look out for replacement options in this regard with the names of Sony, Amazon Netflix doing the rounds and the revised deal being reportedly valued at $2.4 billion for a three-year period between 2026 and 2029.

 However, insiders of the broadcasting industry feel that JioHotstar could be taking the advantage of their unique position – aiming to bring down the guarantee money as the Indian government’s ban on real money gaming (read: Dream 11 & My 11 Circle) has had a cascading effect on the cash flow in the sport. The big players in this arena had been the single largest advertisers in the sport with the ET report claiming that the exit of real-money gaming and fantasy platforms resulted in roughly $840 million ( ₹7,000 crore) gap.

 Speaking to the National Herald, a reliable source confided: ‘’Six months to one year is no time-frame to take a call on the profitability of a product like international cricket, which is now committed to give a global event every year. It could well be a stance to re-negotiate the terms for the next cycle.’’

India and Sri Lanka are the co hosts of the World T20 in February-March and with the Men in Blue going in as defending champions, the ICC under Jay Shah will certainly look to leverage on this marquee event to compensate for last year’s T20 World Cup and ICC Champions Trophy in a hybrid model. The later proved to be a nightmare on both logistical and broadcasting fronts, with teams having to alternate between Dubai and Pakistan just to suit the conditions of the Indian and Pakistan cricket boards.

Those who are in the know of things don’t eventually see the ICC and Jio Hotstar parting  ways – but the ICC is keen to keep a Plan B ready as well. Sony Sports Network is learnt to be already on the job by preparing a blueprint on the coverage of the World T20 while Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, who have never attempted into live sports coverage, have also been sounded out.

Sony, meanwhile, has taken a cautious stance on big-ticket cricket rights despite already owning substantial international properties like the Asian Cricket Council package worth around $170 million, New Zealand Cricket rights valued at $100 million and England and Wales Cricket Board rights exceeding $200 million. However, they were eventually compelled to sub-license the digital media rights for the India-England Test series in July and August of this year to JioStar to mitigate financial risk.