Indian media group Viacom 18 has said it has no immediate plans to enter into the local broadcast rights market due to the spiralling cost of cricket rights and India’s lack of a sporting culture.
Viacom 18 group chief executive Sudhanshu Vats made the statement as the company yesterday (Monday) launched a new digital business and named Gaurav Gandhi as its chief operating officer.
Viacom18 Digital Ventures will seek to bridge the gap between traditional broadcasting and digital innovation, the media firm said in a statement.
Vats told the Press Trust of India news agency: “Sport is not a genre we are looking at in the short-term. Sport as a genre is very capital intensive. It has a very high gestation from the point of view of returns. Moreover, India is not a sporting nation.”
Vats admitted there is a strong viewership for the shorter formats of cricket, such as the Indian Premier League, one-day internationals and some Twenty20 competitions, but added “the viewership just collapses when you go to a five-day Test match”.
Viacom 18 is a joint venture between US media giant Viacom and Indian mass media company Network18.