YuppTV has acquired the digital broadcasting rights for VIVO IPL 2019 for broadcast in Australia, Continental Europe, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the rest of the world including South & Central America and Central & Southeast Asia. Star UK has gained the IPL 2019 broadcasting rights for the UK via Star Gold UK (Sky 729 & Virgin Media 801) and Hotstar. The channel and/or the streaming service can be watched at £11.99 a month (unclear if for Star Gold UK or Hotstar). The IPL, which began on 23 March, has 60 matches amongst 8 teams. Hotstar VIP subscription Last week, Hotstar launched a VIP subscription option where users could watch Hotstar original, STAR network content including the Indian Premier League, ICC Cricket World Cup etc for Rs 365 per year. Note that this was launched just before the IPL began. Hotstar’s VIP plan also comes at a time when Netflix is testing a mobile-only subscription costing Rs 250 per month. This will allow subscribers to watch standard definition (SD) content on one mobile or tablet screen at a time. Netflix’s regular plan costs Rs 500 a month. In Q4FY19, Netflix added 7 million paid memberships outside the US. (Related read: Why Netflix joining the MPAA is a big deal) Previous cricket broadcasting rights In September last year, Reliance Jio and Star India signed a 5-year partnership to broadcast all televised cricket matches (T20, one-day international and test matches and BCCI’s domestic competitions) on JioTV and Hotstar. In April last year,…
