Disney Renews Premier League Deal in India

Disney is keeping its English Premier League rights in India for another three-year cycle at a substantially reduced cost.

The globally popular soccer league will remain on Disney Star through 2025, maintaining a relationship with the Star Network that has lasted over two decades.

Terms were not disclosed, but the pact reportedly represents a nearly 25% drop in value from the last three-year cycle and a 65% decline over the last three cycles. 

The deal brings the Premier League’s total broadcast rights to $13.6 billion for the upcoming cycle, per Inside Sport, with $6.9 billion of that attributable to international rights.

• The deal includes broadcast rights to all 380 Premier League matches each season from 2022-23 to 2024-25.
• Star said that its Premier League viewership has grown 10-fold over the last six years.
• Broadcasts will be available in English, Malayalam, and Bangla.

Star India and its streaming service Hotstar have been part of Disney since The Mouse bought out 21st Century Fox in 2018 as part of a $71 billion deal.

The Other Premier League

Star India also holds rights to the Indian Premier League, the cricket league which saw 380 million viewers from January to September 2021.

Like the current deal for the English Premier League, Star India’s IPL deal expires this year. The cost of retaining the rights are expected to more than double the current $2.5 billion contract, which covered both linear and streaming rights from 2018 to 2022.