By Sakshi Sharma

The Indian Premier League (IPL) was unavailable for free streaming on OTT platforms until JioCinema disrupted the status quo by introducing it on AVOD earlier this year. Subsequently, Disney+ Hotstar was allegedly forced to offer the World Cup and Asia Cup for free on mobile this year.

Most recently, Disney+ Hostar also pulled out its other impact sports property Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) from SVOD and made it free for mobile.

The OTT major said that the decision to enable ad-supported streaming of the tenth edition of PKL closely follows the historic viewership achieved during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Historically, major sports properties have played a pivotal role in boosting revenue through SVOD models. The pressing question now is whether ad revenue generated by offering high-profile sports events for free streaming can offset the subscription loss.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to making sports viewing free on digital. Some believe that this approach expands the reach of OTT services and increases advertising revenue.

On the other hand, some argue that the ad revenue growth rate does not adequately compensate for the subscription revenue growth rate which may happen by putting major sports properties behind a paywall.

Read the full story https://bestmediainfo.com/2023/12/free-sports-streaming-a-smart-move-or-a-longterm-risk