Digital streaming platform Hotstar has announced a subscription tier just for viewing for live sports programmes. This comes on the back of Star India securing broadcast rights for the Indian Premier League. The tournament will be simulcast on both Star Sports and Hotstar, which means that the digital platform will not be receiving a delayed feed, like previous years. As part of the offer, Hotstar will include cricket (IPL 2018, Asia Cup 2018), football (Premier League, Bundesliga, I-League, Indian Super League, AFC Cup), tennis (Wimbledon, French Open, US Open), kabaddi (Pro Kabaddi, Kabaddi Nationals), and others (Formula 1, Badminton World Championships) for an annual fee of Rs 299. This plan is cheaper than Hotstar’s Premium offering which costs Rs 999 annually. Siladitya adds: Star India is amongst the bidders looking to acquire the broadcast right to all international games played in India, starting with Afghanistan's tour of India in June. If Star were to acquire the rights for these matches they could further beef up the offering for this sports only subscription service. Further, the streaming platform has partnered Airtel and Jio to provide the IPL live feed free. Non-Airtel and Jio customers will be able to see 10 minutes of live IPL free only. Notably, this is the first time access to one particular category of content (sports) has been restricted with a subscription. In a bid to monetise the IPL, Hotstar also recently launched a self-service ad tool to facilitate photo and video ad campaigns. “Hotstar AdServe” will allow…
