IPL Media Rights | Never thought IPL numbers would be this much after 15 years, asserts Sunil Gavaskar

The BCCI is set to grow even richer by at least INR 45,000 crore as the rights for the TV and the digital broadcasting for only the Indian subcontinent hit INR 44,070 crore on Day 2 of the auction in Mumbai, on Monday. For a five-year period from 2023 to 2027, the BCCI was assured of Rs 44,070 crore for 410 matches from the auction of Packages A and B for broadcasting in the Indian subcontinent. The numbers of the money were almost three times higher than Star India had paid for the TV and digital rights in 2017 for the 2018-2022 cycle.

Speaking to India Today on Monday, Sunil Gavaskar came up with his opinion regarding the valuation of IPL media rights. Gavaskar said he would never imagine these 'mind-boggling' numbers when IPL was just one-year-old, and this has been a tremendous success for BCCI.

"I never thought that after the first year that the IPL started that these would be the numbers that they would be reaching after 15 years," Gavaskar, who had served as BCCI President (IPL Affairs) in 2014, told India Today.

"This is absolutely terrific and congratulations to everybody concerned. You are looking at the quality of the coverage. Because the numbers have always been good, the viewers loved it. But this number today, which we have got is mind-boggling. I just want to congratulate the BCCi, the TV executives. They will make sure that the viewer will get a big bang for the buck."

As per multiple reports, Viacom has secured digital rights for the next five years of IPL, while there are still speculations around TV rights. The BCCI, meanwhile, are yet to announce the winners.