By Aditya Kalra

NEW DELHI, Feb 13 (Reuters) - The Reliance-Disney joint

venture will no longer offer completely free streaming for IPL

cricket matches and will adopt a hybrid model where subscription

kicks in after content consumption reaches a threshold, three

sources told Reuters on Thursday.

The entity will also launch a new rebranded streaming app,

with plans starting at 149 rupees, said the first source.

The decision to change the terms of streaming the Indian

Premier League (IPL), the world's richest cricket league, comes

after Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance and Walt

Disney ( DIS ) combined their India media assets in an $8.5 billion

merger last year.

JioCinema has allowed free IPL streaming since securing the

rights for the popular tournament for five years, beginning in

2023 for $3 billion.

Now, all streaming content, including IPL, will shift to a

hybrid model where free viewing will be offered for a while, and

then users will need to take subscriptions depending on their

consumption patterns, said two of the sources with direct

knowledge.

"Once a user develops affinity to the platform, start

watching free, becomes loyal ... the subscription will kick in

then," said the first source, adding that each user's

subscription could start at a different point of time.

The sources declined to be named as the plans are

confidential.

Reliance, which controls the joint venture, did not respond

to requests for comment.

The joint venture entity's streaming offering will be

available on a new rebranded app, which will offer a basic plan

starting 149 rupees ($1.72) and an ad-free version for 499

rupees ($5.75) for three months, said the first source.

The Reliance-Disney venture runs more than 100 TV channels

and streaming apps in India's $28-billion media and

entertainment market, where it also competes with Netflix and

Amazon Prime, among others.

JioCinema had 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. Disney's ( DIS ) Hotstar app

had the rights to the International Cricket Council's

tournaments in India and English Premier League soccer.

Key decisions at the entity are being taken by Vice Chairman

Uday Shankar, a media industry veteran who in his previous roles

was instrumental in the rise of Disney's ( DIS ) Hotstar streaming app.