Amazon’s surprise pullout leaves the field open to Ambani’s Reliance, Disney and Sony Group Corp
Amazon.com Inc. is planning to withdraw from a heated competition for the rights to stream Indian Premier League cricket matches, according to people familiar with the matter, ceding one of the world’s most popular sporting contests to rivals from Walt Disney Co. to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd.
The rights had been estimated to fetch an unprecedented $7.7 billion (nearly Rs 60,000 crore). The US giant is planning to throw in the towel rather than get into a bidding war, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing internal deliberations. While Amazon has already invested more than $6 billion in the country, more spending merely for the online streaming rights to the league didn’t make business sense, they said.
Representatives for Amazon didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Amazon’s surprise pullout leaves the field open to Ambani’s Reliance, Disney and Sony Group Corp., who’re betting the game will help them dominate an Indian consumer market increasingly going online. Whichever company scores the deal could also bolster their position as a leading media player in a country of 1.4 billion where the English sport enjoys cult-like status.
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