IPL media rights auction might fetch BCCI 20,000 crores

It was Sony Pictures Network who had won the Indian Premier League media rights back in 2008 and in the last ten years, the Indian audience has familiarized the T20 tournament with Sony in a massive way. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) knows the huge demand IPL’s media rights have globally and they would make the maximum of it.

There are two kinds of rights - broadcast and digital (internet and mobile) rights. While the Indian sub-continental TV rights is the most desired one along with the emerging digital rights, the media rights to the rest of the world also gets in key international markets like the Middle East, Africa, Europe, USA, Australia and New Zealand.

Sony had to pay Rs. 8200 crores to acquire the IPL media rights for 10 years. The global digital rights of IPL for a period of three years was awarded to Novi Digital in 2015 for 302.2 crores.

Speaking to PTI, BCCI Chief Executive Officer Rahul Johri said, “The IPL is one of the biggest cricketing property globally. That the best companies in the global market have shown interest is a testimony to the value that it brings in for the investors.”

Although BCCI will hand it over only for the next five years, the predicted budget to buy it is expected to be a whopping Rs. 20,000 crores. Explaining the decision to shorten the contract, Johri said, "A period of 10 years was too long a period from a buyer's perspective as well as seller's perspective. In an ever-changing world, a decade is a very long period which restricts the property (IPL) from growing.”

The auction will take place on Monday in Mumbai and will see some of the most notable companies from across the globe, which include - Star India, Amazon Seller Services, Sony Pictures Networks, Times Internet, Twitter, Facebook Inc, Discovery, Airtel, Reliance Jio Digital and more.

"Monday's auction could produce historic numbers. While I am not in a position to predict numbers, our primary focus is to deliver a transparent and robust bidding process for each and every stakeholder," said Johri.