Will Disney Star-Viacom merger rewrite the script for IPL in 2024?

We are on the brink of the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, and things in the broadcasting world are buzzing with excitement. Viacom18, the big shot in the digital broadcasting scene, has thrown down the gauntlet by revealing its rate card. Now, everyone's eagerly waiting for Disney Star to drop theirs, which is expected to happen any day now.

Now, here's the hot topic: Will Viacom18 and Disney Star bring the same level of heat to their rivalry as they did last year? Remember the cut-throat competition where they were practically racing each other to the bottom with prices and deals? Well, brace yourself because reports are claiming that there might be a merger between these media giants, and that's got everyone speculating about how it would change the game.

Let's imagine a scenario where these two media giants join forces; collaborative selling could substantially boost their revenues. In the current landscape, traditional media companies find their primary competition in the realm of significant digital players rather than each other.

Will the two conglomerates keep up the aggressive competition, trying to one-up each other, or will the whispers of a merger bring about a more friendly vibe? Maybe they'll cut each other some slack. It's like a high-stakes game of balance between rivalry and collaboration, and it's adding an extra layer of intrigue to the whole IPL 2024 broadcasting drama.

Now, Viacom18's been playing it smart by not jacking up its prices since 2023. It seems they've learned a thing or two from the past and are focusing on building up their user base instead of hiking the price. They're laying down the groundwork for a bigger base in the coming years.

In the last round, Star and Viacom were at each other's throats, dissing each other's platforms left and right. TV versus digital, recall value versus mass reach – you name it. In the middle of this tug of war, Viacom18 also dropped a bombshell: they were going to stream IPL matches for free on mobile. That caught everyone's attention.

Now, the big question: Is Viacom18 going to keep the free mobile streaming party going this year too? They haven't said otherwise, so advertisers are going ahead with the belief that the trend will continue.

Back in 2023, the fierce battle and a sluggish market reportedly led to lower-than-expected revenues for both Viacom18 and Disney Star. Word on the street is that Disney+ Hotstar barely scraped together Rs 2,000-2,500 crore, while Viacom18 landed somewhere between Rs 1,500 to 1,800 crore. That's a far cry from the numbers they were pulling in back in 2022.

And guess what got lost in this broadcasting battle royale? A lot! Advertisers slyly used the situation to their advantage, pulling off some serious negotiations and deal-stretching tactics with both Star and Viacom18.

Now, with a potential merger on the horizon, there's a chance for Viacom18 and Disney Star to shake hands and make nice for the upcoming IPL season. Even though the sceptics doubt whether all the approvals will come through in time, there's this hopeful anticipation of a collaboration that might just outshine the intense competition we saw in 2023.

Should they decide to unite, delivering digital and TV plans could prove highly appealing to advertisers, reminiscent of the successful approach when Star sold TV and digital (Hotstar).

Furthermore, given Disney's ownership of ICC tournaments, there is potential to place all cricket content, both digital and TV, behind a paywall, paving the way for a significant boost in subscription revenues.

In essence, the amalgamation of these two entities could establish a cricket monopoly akin to Star's past dominance, but on a much grander scale, fuelled by the formidable backing of Viacom18.

So, the question we ask is will the baggage from the tough 2023 season continue to drag them down, or will they kick off 2024 on a positive note, making the most of the IPL season? The unfolding drama between these media bigwigs has got the industry on the edge of its seat, eager to see how this potential collaboration will shape their game in the highly anticipated IPL 2024.