YouTube to live stream IPL cricket
In what marks a major development for YouTube’s content ambitions, the video site is to live stream every Indian Premier League cricket game.
The revolutionary deal will see the games broadcast on the IPL’s YouTube channel. Google (which owns YouTube) and the IPL will share advertising and sponsorship revenues in what will instantly net the cricket competition a vast global audience.
If successful, the move has the potential to revolutionise the sports rights landscape in Australia and around the world.
Live sport is one of TV’s biggest drawcards, and viewers being able to find sport freely available online would mark a major threat, which would see television companies fight hard to block online rights being granted. But sports rights holders will keep a close eye on the revenue that the two year deal generates for the IPL. The announcement said:
“Today Google, owner of YouTube, announced a deal with the Indian Premier League to offer live and on-demand access to the tournament’s 60 matches. The deal marks the first time a major sporting event will be streamed live on YouTube. From March 12, cricket fans around the world will have front row seats to the Indian Premier League through the IPL YouTube channel, streamed live everywhere, except from USA where catch-up matches will be available.
“From Mumbai to Melbourne, cricket fans will be able to enjoy all IPL matches and share in cricket fever with fellow fans on YouTube. The IPL YouTube channel will show special on-demand content including match highlights, player interviews, wickets of the match, top sixes, pitch reports and much more.”
The deal will bring renewed focus to the government’s current review of anti-siphoning legislation which is examining which sport should be protected for free to air Australian TV. It is including online rights in the review.
Ryan Hall, head of business development at Google Australia signalled that other deals are in the pipeline. He said: “We want YouTube to be a comprehensive destination for online video and that now includes live sport. We look forward to bringing more premium content online here in Australia.”
The Google deal threatens one of the fundamental arguments of free TV’s position that it deserves special treatment in the review so viewers cannot be held to ransom by subscription TV buying up the rights. But as viewers wopuld be able to see the games for free, that argument would no longer hold.
Linkedin
I’m on holiday and listened to live audio of the Australian Open tennis last night on my mini laptop. Tennis Australia has a special radio commentary broadcasting from centre court.
My wife remarked it’s a shame I couldn’t watch the game as well.
Streaming video on YouTube is the next step in sports media coverage and should be welcomed.
User ID not verified.
Will be interesting once the IPL begins to see local figures around viewers and duration on the youtube channel and compare them to the Ten/OneHD broadcast.
Can sports leagues etc start to incorporate on demand online channels like this or will it dilute their much more financially rewarding broadcast deals?
And is a Google/YouTube as equipped as a Ten/Nine/Seven to monetise this content and deliver a return that justifies the effort and cost?
Ben – probably not yet, but I’d bank on it that they would plan to be able to monetize it in the not too distant future…
User ID not verified.
During the U2 live webcast all I could think was which World Cup will be the first to be live streamed on YouTube.
2014 or 2018.
IPL is a good test. But it’s a step toward content people are conditioned to pay for.
Passions open wallets.
User ID not verified.
So now Google’s a big media company, will people start calling them “evil”?
User ID not verified.
…and commercial television’s end-game takes another step closer…
By the end of this decade, all major global sporting events will be sold directly to viewers and not to broadcasters. The IOC, FIFA, Wimbedon, etc will make a ton more money selling their “show” to the global audience of billions – as will movie and television producers.
The next few years in the Australian commercial television landscape will be very interesting indeed…
User ID not verified.