Picture Credit: IPL/BCCI
The auction for the media rights of the TV and digital rights for the next IPL cycle from 2023-27 for the Indian subcontinent and world has concluded. The figures in terms of India have more than doubled as the IPL media rights have gone for INR 39,775 crore (US$ 5.10 billion approx.).
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah tweeted about the historic auction and said, "Since its inception, the IPL has been synonymous with growth & today is a red-letter day for India Cricket, with Brand IPL touching a new high with e-auction (IPL media rights) resulting in INR 48,390 cr value. IPL is now the 2nd most valued sporting league in the world in terms of per match value!"
Division of the packages
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had divided the process into four packages – domestic broadcast rights (base price is Rs 18,130 crore), digital rights for which the price is Rs 12,210 crore, followed international broadcasting rights at Rs 1,110 crore and finally non-exclusive rights at Rs 1,440 crore. That takes the total base price to Rs 32,890 crore.
Winners of each package
The winning bid for IPL media rights Package A was worth INR 23,575 crores, 57.5 cr per match and was won by Disney-Star. Package B went for INR 20,500 crores, 50 cr per match was won by Viacom. Similarly, Viacom also won the bid for Package C for the price of INR 3,258 crores, 33.24 cr per match Package D went for INR 1,057 crores, 2.6 cr per match to a combined presented by Viacom and Times Internet.
Companies involved in the auction
According to reports, Amazon was part of the bidding for IPL media rights but decided to withdraw from the auction at an early stage. Giants like Disney-Star, Sony-Zee, and Viacom18 were the only major players left after Amazon’s departure in the major categories. Similarly, other entities like Times Internet, Fan Code, and Fun Asia were also involved in the last two packages.
IPL’s global value
In terms of the per-match value, the combined value of INR 107.5 crore (US$ 13.78 million approx.) has pushed the IPL into the upper echelon of the highest-ranked sports leagues in the world like the NFL and the English Premier League. Each NFL match is worth US$ 35.07 million based on the ten-year rights deal signed in 2022, whereas the every Premier League as per the 2022-25 rights deal is listed at US$ 11.34 million