Two separate broadcasters have won the combined media rights for the next five years of the Indian Premier League (TV and digital) for a whopping amount of Rs 44,075 crore. The broadcasters won the lucrative IPL media rights for broadcast in the Indian subcontinent after an intense bidding war.
The television rights have been sold for a sum of INR 57.5 crore (per match) and the digital rights for a number of INR 50 crore (per match) which means the BCCI will earn a whopping amount of Rs 107.5 crore for each IPL game. Overall, the TV rights were sold at Rs 23,575 crore while the digital rights were sold for Rs 20,500 crore.
The winners of the IPL media rights will broadcast a total of 410 matches for a five-year cycle starting 2023 to 2027. As per media reports, Disney (Star Sports) and Viacom18 have bagged the TV and digital rights for the Indian subcontinent, respectively.
These figures have not only further enhanced IPL’s reputation as the richest cricket league in the world but has also put it at par with the richest sports leagues in the world like the NFL and the English Premier League in terms of per-match value.
The e-auction for the IPL media rights got underway on June 12 (Sunday) and had four separate packages (A, B, C, and D). Package A was for television rights in India, Package B for Digital rights in India, Package C for Non-Exclusive set of 18 matches for digital (India) and Package D for the Rest of the World.
As per reports, Viacom18, Disney (Star Sports), Sony and Zee were involved in an intense seven-hour bidding session for Package A (India TV Rights) and Package B (India Digital Rights). Prior to that, Global retail giants Amazon had pulled out of the auction.
IPL media rights 2022:
Winner of Package A (TV rights): Disney (Star Sports)
Amount paid for Package A: Rs 23,575 crore
Winner of Package B (Digital rights): Viacom18
Amount paid for Package B: Rs 20,500 crore
IPL media rights in past:
The previous IPL media rights were bagged by Star India after they had edged out Sony Pictures for the 2017-2022 cycle with a bid of Rs 16,347.50 crore. In the previous cycle, the BCCI received around Rs 55 crore for 1 IPL match. In 2017, the BCCI had allowed composite bids for TV and digital. As a result, Facebook had lost to Star India despite being the highest bidder with Rs 3,900 crore for digital rights.
In 2008, Sony Pictures Network had won the inaugural IPL media rights for a period of 10 years with a bid of Rs 8200 crore. In 2015, Novi Digital had bagged the global digital rights of IPL for a period of three years for Rs 302.2 crore.
Expanded tournament:
Earlier this year, the IPL was expanded from eight teams to ten teams. Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants were the two new additions to the competitions. Both the teams performed well in their inaugural season. While Lucknow Super Giants made it to the playoffs, Gujarat Titans went on to win the tournament.
According to recent media reports, the tournament is likely to be expanded further too. The reports have claimed that the BCCI could increase the number of games in the last two years of the 2023-27 cycle.