Disney’s Star India renews Premier League media rights for the next three seasons

Star India has renewed the English Premier League media rights for the third time in a row and will have exclusive rights to broadcast all 380 EPL matches across its platforms in the Indian Subcontinent through the 2024-25 season. Previously, the rights were held by ESPN Star Sports.

The renewal of the most lucrative football league is important for the broadcaster as the competition has ramped up its European football offerings. The main competitor Sony Sports has the rights for UEFA events and Bundesliga, which Star Sports haven’t opted to renew the previous season. On the other hand, the new entrant Reliance’s Viacom18 has Italian Serie A, French Ligue 1 and Spanish La Liga along with EFL Cup and Championship tournaments.

Along with EPL, the broadcaster will also have the Indian Super League which it had a stake in. FSDL, the operating entity of ISL also has exclusive rights for AFC competitions till 2024, which the broadcaster can access along with Reliance’s Jio TV.

“The Premier League is delighted to announce an extension of our exciting association with Disney Star. They will be an outstanding home for the league over the next three seasons and we look forward to working together to showcase the league to new and existing fans throughout the Indian sub-continent”, said Paul Molnar, chief media officer, EPL. 

“We are delighted to continue our association with the Premier League and look forward to the collaboration over the next three seasons. Our joint efforts have seen viewership for the league grow manifold and we remain committed to widening its popularity”, continued Sanjog Gupta, head of sports, Disney-Star India.

Apart from the Indian sub-continent, EPL had also extended rights to their domestic partners Sky Sports, BT Sport, and Amazon Prime Video for the next three seasons under the existing contractual conditions. The league had also renewed the rights in the USA with NBC Universal, in Latin America with ESPN among others. With these new renewals, the league’s international broadcasting rights value has reportedly overtaken the domestic value for the first time in history.