Amazon, Facebook vie for Indian Cricket League streaming rights

Amazon.com Inc., Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. have joined a bidding war for rights to stream Indian Premier League cricket matches, seeking to tap into the nation’s growing mobile internet audience. Indian Premier League received an "overwhelming response" from as many as 18 Indian and global media and technology companies, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said in a statement on Tuesday. Other bidders include BT Group Plc and Sky Plc as well as global media companies 21st-Century-Fox-owned Star India Pvt., Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt. and ESPN Digital Media (India) Pvt. The world’s second-most populous nation is on the brink of a digital-streaming boom. India will have 730 million internet users by 2020, according to a report in August by India’s IT industry body Nasscom and Akamai Technologies. “The hunger for cricket and the real possibility of consuming it live on a personal device makes for a hugely engaging combination, and that’s what the global companies are going for,” said Shabir Momin, managing director of Singapore-based ZengaTV.com, one of the largest over-the-top and digital video services in India.