Mumbai/New Delhi – Sunday’s auction for media rights to Indian Premier League (IPL), the world's richest cricket league, ended making the BCCI richer by 43,050 Crores with all the bidders still in fray. Bids on Day 1 have crossed 43,050 Crore mark (USD 5.5 Billion).
There are four packages – A, B, C and D. Package A is the TV rights for the Indian subcontinent only. Package B deals with the digital rights for the Indian subcontinent. Package C has a special bouquet of matches, with non-exclusive digital rights for the Indian subcontinent. This includes tournament openers and playoffs. Package D contains the world rights for TV and digital.
According to latest info with InsideSport, Package A is currently at 23,370 Cr (57 Cr Per Match) and Package B of Digital Rights for India is at 19,700 Crore (48.04 Cr Per Match).
The primary battle for the Indian Sub-Continent broadcast rights is between Disney Star, Sony Network and Reliance Viacom18. ZEE is bidding for the Digital Rights and competing with Disney Hotstar & Reliance Jio (Viacom18).
The IPL which boasts top Indian industrialists and Bollywood stars among its franchise owners, is often seen as a fail-safe ticket to high TV ratings and growth in India's booming online streaming space.
While the digital and television rights for 2023 to 2027 are expected to more than double the 163.48 billion rupees ($2.09 billion) that Star India, now owned by Walt Disney Co, paid in 2017 for the rights through this year, some observers say caution may be setting in.
"There is also a global shift toward saner valuations, where investor expectations have shifted from ‘growth-at-any-cost’ to ‘growth-with-profitability’," said Mihir Shah, vice president of consultants Media Partners Asia.
The glitzy T20 league draws the planet's best cricket talents for two months of fast-paced matches played to packed stadiums with cheerleaders and live music.
But in a sign of potential limits to the boom, Amazon.com Inc pulled out of the bidding process on Friday, saying it did not think it was viable growth option for the company in India.
Sony Corp's India unit and local broadcaster Zee Entertainment are in merger talks but will bid separately.
The e-bidding process will be for broadcast rights, digital rights, a bespoke package that includes rights for high-value matches as well as rights to broadcast in foreign territories.
Bidding will resume at 11 AM on Monday.
-Reuters/insidesport