money Matters
The IPL media rights for the 2023-27 cycle were sold for a jaw-dropping INR 48390 Crore. © BCCI/IPL
As the media rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) are gathering dust, new facts have emerged and they are largely contrary to popular belief. That said, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has formally submitted the Letter of Intent (LOI) to the winning parties.
After interacting with the various participants in the three-day IPL e-auction that concluded on Wednesday (June 14), Cricbuzz has learned that Viacom18 was second in television rights while Sony were the challengers who pushed up the package C price. Extended. INR 33 crores.
It can be confirmed that Viacom, which had spent over Rs 27,000 crore for two digital packages – B and C, was leading in both the primary categories – A and B – by the end of the first day (June 12). Was being Bids closed at INR 57 crores per game for television rights and INR 48 crores for a game for digital rights. On the second day, Viacom gave up linear rights worth Rs 57.5 crore for strategic reasons. He acquired the digital rights (Package B) for INR 50 crores per game.
The second and third days saw a close competition for the non-exclusive package C and it was thought that Star, which had earlier got the TV rights, was after the smaller digital package. However, it has now emerged that Sony, and not Disney Star, was actually pursuing the rights which eventually ended up at Rs 33.24 for Viacom. The base price for this non-exclusive package was Rs 16 crore and intense bidding between Viacom and Sony raised it to more than twice the reserve price. As is widely acknowledged, Package C emerged as a game-changer in the overall bidding and raised the final price to Rs 48,390 crore.
Meanwhile, it can be confirmed that IPL rights will not see the lengthy process of due diligence that was done during the sale of franchise rights last year. The BCCI had to engage in an elaborate process of evaluation and hold a few Governing Council meetings before signing an agreement with the CVC for the Ahmedabad franchise. This time, however, it is learned that the board has issued letters of intent (LOIs) to all the winners and is close to signing a Media Rights Agreement (MRA) with them.
Confusion over ICC rights
Indian broadcasters and digital players participating in the IPL e-auction have expressed ignorance about how the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) rights will expire, to be decided in early September. ICC sources have said that there will be a closed but controlled process and this has led to confusion among the Indian participants. ICC managers are expected to speak to potential Indian bidders on Monday.
The ICC has invited sealed bids for the next cycle (2024–31), for both four and eight years, which requires participants to make presentations on their vision for cricket, especially for the women’s package. ICC is inviting separate bids for the rights of men and women for the first time. Bids will have to be submitted on August 22 and the world body said the envelopes will be opened “with independent inspection after submissions in a controlled manner.”
Winners will be announced in early September.
cricbuzz
