“Our partnership with Jio gives us unparalleled access and reach to every Indian”: Viacom18’s Anil Jayaraj

Our core belief is that our company is committed to building world-class digital platforms of the future.

Anil Jayaraj, CEO-Sports, Viacom18, in an email to his colleagues, said, “Not only will we be able to build the most successful streaming company in the country, we will also, along with our other businesses, build India’s most profitable digital media and entertainment brand.

afaqs! has a copy of this email that he wrote to his employees after Viacom18 won the consolidated bid for the digital rights for the Indian Premier League (2023-2027).

The text of the full email can be found below:

Dear Team Viacom18,

I write this mail with a great deal of pride and excitement. Viacom18 has bagged the exclusive rights to digitally stream Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in the Indian sub-continent for the seasons from 2023 to 2027. This also includes the special digital package of 18 games. Apart from securing packages B and C, Viacom18 has also won television as well as digital rights in three of the five international territories including Asia, Canada, Australia, the Caribbean Islands, Israel, New Zealand, South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, and the UK and Europe. We successfully outbid the incumbents and all others in the above packages.

The focus on bidding for digital rights comprehensively comes from the core belief that our company is committed to building world-class digital platforms of the future. Our partnership with Jio gives us unparalleled access and reach to each and every Indian. Not only will we be able to build the most successful streaming company in the country, we will also, along with our other businesses, build India’s most profitable digital media and entertainment brand.

We launched our sports foray just ten months ago and in this short period of time we have managed to acquire several marquee rights including Football (FIFA World Cup, La Liga, Serie A and Ligue1), Badminton, Tennis and NBA. With IPL, we have acquired the blockbuster and most high-profile cricket rights for our digital platforms and audiences globally. With this acquisition, Viacom18 will take India’s biggest sporting event IPL to every nook and corner of the country and make it available to every Indian consumer, something that even television has failed to do.

I also believe that this will be an exceptional opportunity for all advertisers to reach a much wider, relevant, younger, fast-growing and highly-engaged audience. The targeting and personalisation opportunities that IPL will present on Viacom18 platforms with its strategic partnership with Jio will be unmatched. We will be able to offer a compelling proposition to advertisers with better reach and targeting than any other rival and legacy platforms in the country.

I would like to thank everyone in the Viacom18 team for their unwavering faith and support that helped us take this giant leap. As we move to the next phase of our growth, I look forward to your unflinching support to become the most sought after sports network in the country.

I would love to leave you all with these simple but impactful words from former LA Lakers coach Phil Jackson “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

Congratulations once again on this momentous occasion as we accelerate our efforts towards building the media and entertainment platforms of tomorrow.

Warm regards,

Anil Jayaraj

CEO-Sports