IPL 2020 viewership helps Disney+ Hotstar's revenues cross whopping ₹1600 crore landmark

The Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season was conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year between September and November. The tournament, spanning 60 matches across 52 action-packed days, witnessed record viewership according to Star Sports' head Sanjog Gupta. While it was a difficult decision to greenlight the IPL 2020 amidst coronavirus crisis, the Indian board and broadcasters managed to rake in some big benefits from the tournament once it got approved.  

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IPL 2020 viewership helped broadcasters cross staggering landmark

The Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar provided the live telecast and live streaming respectively of the IPL 2020 season. With lack of Indian cricketing coverage on offer at the time, many fans took to the video-on-demand platform Disney+ Hotstar to catch the live action from the T20 tournament. As it turns out, Disney+ Hotstar’s parent company, i.e. Novi Digital Entertainment, witnessed a significant rise in their revenue for the financial year 2020 due to an increment in the number of their subscribers.

According to a data provided by Tofler, the revenue of the Novi Digital Entertainment rose to ₹1,628 crores in the FY2020 from ₹1,123 crores in their previous year. In the process, even their losses were significantly reduced, i.e. from ₹554.38 crores to ₹361.8 crores.

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IPL 2021 season updates

The tournament will now continue with the 2021 edition, scheduled to commence sometime in April this year. According to reports, the IPL 2021 season will begin shortly after the ongoing India vs England series.

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IPL auction live streaming in India

There is a significant buzz ahead of the IPL 2021 auction, and cricket enthusiasts will also be treated with the live telecast as well as live streaming of the event. Fans in Indian can tune in to the Star Sports Network to catch the live telecast of the program. The IPL auction live streaming will also be made available on the Disney+Hotstar app and website, as well as on JioTV.

IPL auction 2021 date and time information

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced on January 27 that the forthcoming IPL auction will take place in Chennai after the completion of the second Test match between India and England. It was confirmed on the Indian Premier League's social media account that the auction will take place on February 18. According to the Star Sports Network, the live telecast of the program will begin at 2 PM (IST) while the auction will begin from 3 PM onwards.

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Image source: IPLT20.COM