JioCinema Scores Record 1.47 Billion Digital Views and 50 Million App Downloads in Opening Weekend

Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries’ broadcast joint venture said on Monday that its JioCinema app scored a record 1.47 billion digital video views during the opening weekend of the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament. , as well as 50 million mobile app downloads.

Video viewership numbers for the IPL weekend eclipsed what was recorded throughout IPL’s final season on digital, said Viacom18, part of Network18 – the Reliance-owned media unit of Mukesh Ambani.

Viacom18 won the digital broadcast rights from 2023 to 2027, for 237.58 billion Indian rupees ($2.89 billion), which Disney previously held.

On the other hand, Disney-owned Star India, which is the official TV broadcaster of the IPL, the world’s richest cricket league, said it saw a total of 8.7 billion minutes of consumption at the television for Friday’s opening match between defending champions Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings.

A peak attendance of 16 million viewers was recorded on JioCinema during the match, Viacom18 said.

The content consumption landscape has increasingly shifted “towards digital and JioCinema’s performance this week is the greatest proof of that,” Viacom18 Sports chief executive Anil Jayaraj said in a statement.

Disney Star said in a separate statement it was seeing a “continued dominance” of linear television as the preferred platform for uninterrupted viewing of live cricket.

The comments point to a fierce rivalry between Reliance and Disney, who are targeting a sizable share of ad revenue at a time when channels are seeing increased spending to boost viewership as advertisers cut spending due to an inflationary environment.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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