IPL Media Rights: BCCI richer by Rs 46,000 crore and counting, digital rights soars to Rs 50 crore per game
IPL Media Rights: The BCCI is set to laugh all the way to the bank after selling the Indian subcontinent’s IPL TV and digital rights for a whopping Rs 44,075 crore, making it one of the wealthiest sports organisations in the world.
Package A (Indian subcontinent TV Rights) for 410 IPL matches spanning five seasons from 2023 to 2027 has sold for Rs 23,575 crore, or Rs 57.5 crore per game, according to reports.
However, it was the digital rights for the Indian subcontinent that stole the show, with one of the bidders offering Rs 50 crore per game when the winner of Package A challenged them. Package B brought in Rs 20,500 crore, bringing the BCCI’s total profit to Rs 44,075 crore after the two packages were sold.
Another Rs 2000 crore offered for Package C, which comprises a select non-exclusive digital rights contract, when the auctions ended on the second day. The auction, which is already in its third day, will resume on Tuesday with Package C.
The board has already earned Rs 46,000 crore, which is more than two and a half times the value of the 2018 auction, which was Rs 16,347 crore.
The final valuation expected to be in the range of Rs 47,000 crore to Rs 50,000 crore.
The base price for television was Rs 49 crore, while the price for digital rights was Rs 33 crore.
“We are already reaching towards the USD 5.5 billion mark after selling two packages. But digital rights per match value touching Rs 50 crore is massive. An incremental growth of 51 percent over and above base price is phenomenal,” a BCCI functionary told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
“The bidding stopped at 6 pm today and we are currently auctioning off package C. That has 98 games for five years in non-exclusive digital category. There are 18 in the first two seasons followed by 20 in the next two. And 24 in the final season. It will followed by package D, which is overseas rights for TV and digital.”
The following is the breakdown of the 410 matches across five years: 74 matches each for 2023 and 2024. In 2025 and 2026, there will be 84 games, and in 2027, there will be 94 games.
The owners given a secret code via which they bid according to the e-auction rules. The code of the bidding businesses is unknown to any BCCI office bearers or employees.
During the initial round of bidding, increments of Rs 50 lakh used. And once the winner of Package A challenged the highest bidder of Package ‘B’. The incremental bid value was worth Rs 1 crore.
No one from the BCCI able to confirm who won the two prizes.
Sony and Walt Disney (Star) rumoured to have in a bidding war for television rights. Reliance-owned Viacom18, which has formed a consortium with Uday Shankar and James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems, thought to be in the running for Package B, according to reports.
Package C will aggressively pursued by whoever wins Package B, as the broadcasters want to keep their exclusivity. And relinquishing a tiny package of key matches to another corporation would be a poor economic decision.
Package D, which has a base value of Rs 3 crore for global TV and digital rights, will face stiff competition from Zee. That is led by former BCCI CEO Rahul Johri during the auction.
“If Johri and Zee can win Package D and if Sony has won package A. Then the Zee-Sony partnership will usher in a new beginning. But let’s wait till tomorrow,” a source involved in the auction process said.
(With PTI Inputs)
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