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Disney+ Hotstar on Friday announced that it has decided to make the Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup tournaments available for free-to-view to all mobile phone users accessing their platform.
“The move to lift the paywall for mobile-only viewers of both, the Asia Cup and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, is aimed at further democratising the game of cricket and making it accessible to as many mobile users in India as possible for the duration of the season,” the company said in a statement.
More than 540 million smartphone users in India will be able to watch the Asia Cup and ICC Men's Cricket World Cup for free, it added.
Disney+ Hotstar has also enabled free streaming for tablets.
ICC World Cup 2023, Asia Cup and their viewership
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The Asia Cup 2023 will be held in September in India, and the Asian country will also host the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, which will last nearly two months, from October 5 to November 19.
While the Asia Cup will feature 13 matches, the World Cup will feature ten countries competing for the coveted trophy in a total of 48 matches.
Both events will draw a large number of viewers, with the Asia Cup already attracting attention due to the controversy surrounding the Pakistan cricket team's visit to India, while the World Cup, which occurs every four years, is the top product for 50-over cricket matches.
This comes on the back of the Indian Premier League (IPL) setting viewership records for both television and digital platforms this year. However, for the first time, the BCCI divided the media rights for the IPL, with Disney Star picking the TV rights and billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani's JioCinema picking the digital rights.
Strong digital viewership
Disney+ Hotstar hopes to achieve strong digital viewership in the world's most populous country by streaming the two upcoming marquee cricketing events for free.
"Disney+ Hotstar has remained at the forefront of the rapidly evolving OTT industry in India and the various innovations we have introduced to continue enhancing the viewer experience has allowed us to delight our audiences across the region. Making the Asia Cup and ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup available to a wider audience, we believe, will help us grow the overall ecosystem,” said Sajith Sivanandan, Head of Disney+ Hotstar.
In August 2022, Disney Star was awarded the rights to broadcast in India all ICC tournaments till 2027.
