*

JioCinema's live sport streams to move to Hotstar, sources

say

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Decision includes Indian Premier League cricket, sources

say

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Hotstar seen as having better back-end technology, sources

say

(Adds details on app transition, background on Disney India)

By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Oct 18 (Reuters) - All live sporting events

streamed by the newly merged Disney-Reliance business in India,

including popular Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket, will only

be available on Disney's ( DIS ) Hotstar app, three sources familiar

with the matter told Reuters.

The decision marks the first major integration of the

businesses and signals billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance,

which holds a majority of the new venture, doesn't plan to shut

the Disney ( DIS ) platform, though it is unclear if Hotstar might be

rebranded.

Disney ( DIS ) declined to comment, while Reliance did not

immediately respond to a request for comment.

Disney ( DIS ) and Reliance in February agreed a $8.5 billion merger

of their media assets to create India's biggest entertainment

company, with a combined 120 TV channels and two streaming apps,

but gave no details on how they would combine or operate after

the deal.

Reliance's JioCinema has the rights to IPL cricket, a

money-spinner and among the most-streamed content, as well as to

the Winter Olympics and Indian Super League football.

Hotstar has rights to the International Cricket Council's

tournaments in India, English Premier League soccer, and the

domestic Pro Kabaddi League.

Hotstar head Sajith Sivanandan held a town-hall this week to

tell staff of the decision to switch live sports streams from

Reliance's app, one of the sources said.

The decision was influenced by Hotstar's better back-end

technology for handling live content as well as serving targeted

ads, the person said, adding Hotstar was aiming to complete the

transition by January.

A second source said it was not clear how other

entertainment content might be integrated, including whether the

venture would continue to operate two apps or close one.

The merger was approved by India's competition regulator in

August after the companies offered concessions to ease worries

about their grip on cricket broadcasting rights, including a

commitment to not raise advertising rates unreasonably.

Hotstar has come to be known for its prowess in handling

live content glitch-free in cricket-mad India, where it's common

for millions to watch events at the same time. It set a record

concurrent viewership of 59 million during the finals of men's

cricket World Cup last year.