The richest cricket league in the world just got richer. IPL’s blockbuster media rights auction will net a potential INR 48,390 crore (US$6.2 billion approx) over the next five years, making the league one of the richest in the sporting world.
Disney Star* retained TV rights in the subcontinent for ₹23,575 crore (approximately US$3 billion), while Viacom18 acquired digital rights in the same region and media rights (both TV and digital) in three global regions – Australia + New Zealand, UK and South Africa – in Rs 23,758 crore (approximately US$ 3 billion). Media rights for two other global regions – Middle East (INR 205 cr / US$ 26.27 million approx.) and USA (INR 258 cr / US$ 33.06 million approx.) – visit Times Internet.
Breaking down further, Disney Star will pay INR 57.5 crores (US$7.36 million) per match, while Viacom 18, which won the subcontinent digital rights for all matches, won INR 50 crores (US$6.40 million approx) in a match, and then Committed another INR 33 crores (US$4.22 million) per match for a non-exclusive package of high-profile games (between 18 and 22 matches), which effectively exceeds INR 58 crores (US$) will pay 7.43 million approx.) per match. Throw in global numbers, and the IPL is now only behind the NFL in value per match.
The total deal for the 2023-27 cycle is 2.96 times or 196% higher than the previous IPL rights deal (2018-22) at Rs 16,347.5 crore (US$2.55 billion at the time). The previous cycle consisted of 60 matches per season for five years. For the new five-year cycle, the IPL has listed a different number of matches per season, ranging from 74 matches in 2023 and 84 matches each in ’24, 2025 and ’26, and a maximum of 94 matches for the final year. deal in 2027.
The rights were sold via an e-auction, which began on Sunday, June 12. The rights were sold in four categories: A (TV rights in the Indian subcontinent), B (digital rights in the subcontinent), C (digital rights in India between 18 and 22 per season in a special package of high-profile games) and D. (Global media rights in five different regions).
Apart from the obvious windfall for the BCCI, the blockbuster deal will also provide a huge cash bonus to the IPL franchises, whose central revenue share is set to rise to around Rs 500 crore.
In this rights cycle, digital rights have exceeded the value of TV and have been the biggest driver of growth in the value of IPL rights. The winning bid for the digital rights in the subcontinent alone was 13% higher than the total bid made by Star India to win the global consolidated rights. [TV and digital] in 2017. The importance and rapid growth of the digital footprint in the Indian market can be gauged from the fact that in 2017, the highest bid for digital rights by Facebook was Rs 3,900 crore (approximately US$ 0.61 billion). [Despite that high bid, Star had pipped Facebook to the digital rights with its consolidated offer.]
The highest bid for TV rights in the subcontinent was 17.3% higher than the per-match base price of Rs 49 crore (about US$6.3 million) set by the IPL. The segment saw a huge jump of 51.5% against the per-match base price of INR 33 crore (approximately US$4.2 million) for digital rights in the same number.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah said the trend reflects a shift in digital viewership. “There were around 560 million digital viewers in 2017 and 665 million in 2021. You expect it to grow even more in the years to come,” he told PTI. “By 2024, India will have 900 million internet users. Obviously linear viewership (TV) will remain, but there is a transition towards digital audiences and thus you realize the value.”
Rebecca Campbell, president of international content and operations at The Walt Disney Company, said of Disney Star’s focus on television rights over digital: “We made disciplined bids with a focus on long-term value. We decided not to proceed with digital rights. The price required to secure that package.
“We will explore other multiplatform cricket rights, including future rights from the ICC and BCCI, which we currently have through the 2023 and 2024 seasons respectively.”
,ESPNcricinfo and Disney Star are part of The Walt Disney Company.
Nagraj Gollapudi ESPNcricinfo. is the news editor of
