Lalit Modi

So Lalit says, hey, we can leverage this sales force and use those people to go hook up with these early Wild West proto-cable operators out there in these towns and villages in India and bring them Disney content.

So Lalit says, hey, we can leverage this sales force and use those people to go hook up with these early Wild West proto-cable operators out there in these towns and villages in India and bring them Disney content.

Yep. There is a national over-the-air broadcast network in India, a national network called DoorDarshan. But just like happened decades earlier in the U.S., little mom-and-pop cable operators are starting to pop up and saying, oh, yeah, we'll run a wire. You know, we've got a satellite dish.

Yep. There is a national over-the-air broadcast network in India, a national network called DoorDarshan. But just like happened decades earlier in the U.S., little mom-and-pop cable operators are starting to pop up and saying, oh, yeah, we'll run a wire. You know, we've got a satellite dish.

We're pulling down signal from CNN or what have you, and we'll rebroadcast those channels out to you via a wire into your home.

We're pulling down signal from CNN or what have you, and we'll rebroadcast those channels out to you via a wire into your home.

Yep. He is the JV partner that Disney is entering India with. Got it. So now here we are in the early 90s. Disney isn't the only major global media conglomerate that sees the potential of this newly television-hooked-up Indian consumer market, there's News Corp out there and Rupert Murdoch. And Rupert, of course, really built the television side of News Corp with Fox on the back of two things.

Yep. He is the JV partner that Disney is entering India with. Got it. So now here we are in the early 90s. Disney isn't the only major global media conglomerate that sees the potential of this newly television-hooked-up Indian consumer market, there's News Corp out there and Rupert Murdoch. And Rupert, of course, really built the television side of News Corp with Fox on the back of two things.

It was news at first, but then it was really sports that helped Fox totally take off. I mean, the NFL Sunday deal here in the U.S. is what put them on the map. This is the blueprint for bringing Fox and News Corp into a new country.

It was news at first, but then it was really sports that helped Fox totally take off. I mean, the NFL Sunday deal here in the U.S. is what put them on the map. This is the blueprint for bringing Fox and News Corp into a new country.

Exactly. So News Corp had just launched a new brand and channel in India called Star. And Rupert's going around looking for how he's going to run this playbook in India. What sports is he going to broadcast? And pretty quickly, he figures out that there's really only one sport that matters in India, and that's cricket.

Exactly. So News Corp had just launched a new brand and channel in India called Star. And Rupert's going around looking for how he's going to run this playbook in India. What sports is he going to broadcast? And pretty quickly, he figures out that there's really only one sport that matters in India, and that's cricket.

And it just so happens that he thinks he can actually get the rights to broadcast Indian national cricket pretty darn cheaply. We're going to come back to that in a little bit.

And it just so happens that he thinks he can actually get the rights to broadcast Indian national cricket pretty darn cheaply. We're going to come back to that in a little bit.

Yeah. There's no English Premier League of cricket. At this point in time, cricket is just this international game.

Yeah. There's no English Premier League of cricket. At this point in time, cricket is just this international game.

Yeah, it's Monday Night Football. It's the playoffs. It's probably every Indian male who has access to a TV station. And I say male because at this point in time, cricket is a male game.

Yeah, it's Monday Night Football. It's the playoffs. It's probably every Indian male who has access to a TV station. And I say male because at this point in time, cricket is a male game.

Is watching when the Indian national team is playing. Yep. So Rupert hoovers up these rights pretty cheaply. And all of a sudden, Star is now the place to watch cricket in India. Lalit sees this. He's got the partnership with Disney. He's always been interested in sports. He's like, well, hey, guys, you have ESPN. We got to get in this game. We got to be getting cricket, too. Yep.

Is watching when the Indian national team is playing. Yep. So Rupert hoovers up these rights pretty cheaply. And all of a sudden, Star is now the place to watch cricket in India. Lalit sees this. He's got the partnership with Disney. He's always been interested in sports. He's like, well, hey, guys, you have ESPN. We got to get in this game. We got to be getting cricket, too. Yep.