BCCI expects rights for India games to beat IPL at Rs 55-60 crore per game

The Indian cricket team is arguably one of the most followed cricketing teams around the world and that is evident with the way things are panning out in the e-auction for the broadcasting rights of India’s home matches. Star India, Sony Pictures Network, and Reliance are fighting it out in the ongoing e-auction process. They are bidding for the Global Consolidated Media Rights (GCR) for the 2018-2023 cycle of India's home bilateral series. Last night's bid was at Rs 4442 crore and the bidding would have continued today (April 4). 

In September last year, Star India won the global broadcasting and digital media rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) with a whopping bid of Rs 16347.5. This meant that the BCCI will approximately earn Rs 55 crore from every IPL game. 

However, according to a BCCI official, that record is set to be breached. With the way things have gone about in the e-auction, it is estimated that the BCCI will get around Rs 55-60 crore per India game. 

“It is very difficult to pick an exact figure as this is the first time that we are having an e-auction and everyone is trying to understand how the whole process works. But yes, it should end at something around Rs 55-60 crore per match,” the BCCI official was quoted saying by CricketNext. 

Thus, this means that the BCCI will get Rs 12 crore more per match than before. They used to receive Rs 43 crore from Star India per game since 2012. 

Sony and Star are by far the biggest competitors in the market at the moment. Cricket telecast in India has been distributed among both the companies. However, both of them were not pleased with the fact that they would need to pay the same value per game even if India is not involved (or not playing). Thus, the two companies wrote to the BCCI regarding the matter and expressed their displeasure. 

“The average viewership on Indian matches is significantly higher than on non-India matches (as surveyed during the Asia Cup in 2016). Even an India match with a non-Test playing nation generates more viewership than two major Test nations playing each other. The bidder is expected to attribute the same per match value to any such match, without any realistic possibility of recovering such value. Paying same per match value for India matches and non-India matches is not commercially viable. We request the BCCI and CoA to reconsider their position,” Star India wrote in its mail, as reported by CricketNext.

“These last minute changes on the bid documentation and the online bid is making it difficult for us to prepare for the bid on 3rd April. As you know, there are a lot of calculations and modelling that goes into a bid preparation and these last-minute changes create so much uncertainty. One issue that is particularly of concern is regarding tri-series in India organized by the BCCI. The clarification says all matches will be valued the same. This means an India- Afghanistan-Bangladesh or an India-Bangladesh-Zimbabwe will be valued equally with an India-Australia-South Africa. This quite frankly is illogical. Advertisers and even the viewing public do not value these matches equally and for the BCCI to consider all of them as having the same value does injustice to bidders. We would earnest request BCCI to reconsider,” Sony’s letter stated. 

While Star currently holds the Broadcasting rights for New Zealand and Bangladesh, Sony has the rights to seven Test-playing nations which includes the broadcasting rights for Australia and England which they bought recently to add to their tally of broadcasting rights for South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe.