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The Indian Premier League's (IPL) digital broadcasters Viacom18 will allow their users to have multiple video streams on their OTT application from the next season, and the viewers will also get to choose the camera angle in which they want to watch the match. The streaming will be in ultra-high definition, which will greatly enhance the experience of the users.
Viacom 18 acquired the digital rights during the mega media rights auction in June 2022. Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm Akash Ambani shared details on how the rollout of 5G services will make the IPL broadcast interactive at the Reliance Industries Annual General Body Meeting on Monday.
“Let’s take a look at how we might watch an interactive live Mumbai Indians match in the very near future with JioAirFiber on a large screen, instead of the traditional broadcast experience. The big difference you can see is that because of the Giga-bit speeds of JioAirFiber, we can now deliver not just one video stream, but multiple video streams, showing multiple camera angles at the same time, and that too in ultra-high definition.
"And we can dynamically choose which camera angle we want to focus on, while still having a preview of other video streams. This makes every game truly immersive, even better than the real-match experience, as well as personalised to suit the preferences of each and every viewer,” Akash said at the AGM.
Viewers using their 5G services can also have their own ‘watch parties’ via video calls. “You can even have a watch party with your friends through live video calls, no matter where they are in India, almost as if you are watching a match sitting together in a stadium,” Akash added.
Viacom18 bought the digital rights for the IPL matches, paying Rs 23,758 crore for Packages B and C. The first one, package B covers digital rights for the Indian subcontinent and the second, package C has a special bouquet of 18 matches per season with non-exclusive digital rights for the same region.
Meanwhile, Disney-Star bagged Package A – TV rights for the Indian subcontinent – for Rs 23,575 crore.
