In a big announcement earlier today, BCCI has made its decision to waive off one match from the media rights agreement (MRA) 2018-23 with Star India, which amounts to ₹78.90 crores. The deal with Star India was for organising 102 matches in the 5-year cycle, but the BCCI ended up hosting 103 matches for the same period.
Earlier, Star India and BCCI had signed an MRA for the 5-year cycle (2018-23), wherein the indicative schedule was to host 102 matches valued at ₹6138.1 crores.
A note from BCCI was shared to the media about the matter which read, “It has been resolved to waive off (one) match from the scope of Star India Private Limited under the BCCI-Star Media Rights Agreement dated 5th April 2018 for BCCI International and Domestic Matches. The total number of matches during the rights period has now been reduced from 103 to 102.”
According to a source closely in touch with Star India, BCCI was expected to organise 102 matches, so the scenario of waiving off one match fee should not have arised. Meanwhile another source was quoted as saying to PTI, “The MRA had 102 games and Star will pay for those matches. I don’t see an issue here.”
In some cricketing circles, this waiver from BCCI to Star India is connected to the upcoming media rights for international and domestic matches from 2023-2027. The cricket’s governing body in India is expecting a windfall of money through the MRA as key players like Viacom 18, Sony, and Star India will be involved in it. BCCI has already secured ₹48,390 crores with the IPL media rights agreement for a 5-year period (2023- 27).
