Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, June 14: The Indian Premier League’s broadcaster monopoly will come to an end, as the digital and television rights for the Indian subcontinent were split between two broadcasters. The sale of broadcast rights for the 2023-2027 cycle is expected to net the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) more than Rs 45,000 crore.
As the third day of the IPL media rights auction in Mumbai progressed, it was revealed that Star India has retained the television rights for the Indian subcontinent (Package A), while Viacom18 has secured the digital rights (Package B), both of which were sold for an unprecedented sum in Indian sports broadcasting history.
On Tuesday, bidding for Package C, a non-exclusive package of 18 matches per season, and Package D (overseas TV and digital), will continue.
According to news agency PTI, Disney Star got Package A for Rs 23,575 crore on Monday, while Viacom18 acquired the digital rights for Rs 20,500 crore.
Only the sale of Indian Subcontinent TV and digital rights will earn the BCCI Rs 44,075 crore for 410 matches between 2023 and 2027. Star India, for example, paid Rs 16,347.5 crore in 2017 for a composite offer for television and digital rights for the 2018-22 cycle.
The cost per match has grown to Rs 107.5 crore, about double the previous cycle’s figure. During the initial round of bidding, increments of Rs 50 lakh were used, and once the winner of Package A challenged the highest bidder of Package ‘B,’ the incremental bid value was worth Rs 1 crore.
In contrast to 2017, the BCCI did not allow composite bids for TV and digital. Despite Facebook being the highest bidder with Rs 3,900 crore for digital rights for the 2018-22 season, Star India had made a composite winning proposal.
