IPL media rights auction: Disney Star, Viacom18 among winners as BCCI earns UNIMAGINABLE amount

After two days of drama and action, the IPL media rights auction has finally come to a fitting end with a huge inflow of money for the BCCI. The television rights for the Indian subcontinent have been secured by Disney Star for a whopping INR 23,575 crore (INR 235.75 billion) whereas the digital rights — for the same region — have gone to Viacom18 for INR 20,500 crore (INR 205 billion). Thus, there will be two broadcasters for IPL for the next five years, from 2023 to 2027.

Package C, a special set of 98 matches for a five-year period, resumed the third day’s auction on Tuesday (June 14). It was also fetched by Viacom18 for INR 3,273 crore (INR 32.73 billion) — giving it the rights for 18 exclusive IPL games, including the tournament-opener, final, and evening games during the weekends. Lastly, Package D — which concluded the entire proceedings — went for INR 1,058 crore (INR 10.58 billion) with Viacom18 and Times Internet securing the rights.

It is to be noted that the BCCI earned a staggering INR 48,390.52 crore, more than two and a half times more than the previous media rights auction which was held in 2018 (with an overall value of Rs 16,347 crore). In addition, the per match value of the two digital packages (i.e. B and C) is a whopping INR 23,773 crore, which is more than the total amount for the tv rights (INR 23,575 crore). 

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Here’s what all the packages stand for

Package A – It is solely for the Indian sub-continent exclusive TV (broadcast) rights, which had a base price being at INR 490 million per game

Package B – Catering to the Indian sub-continent with exclusive digital (streaming) rights. The base price was set at INR 330 million per encounter

Package C – The third and penultimate package is for selected 18 games (such as tournament-opener, final, etc.) in every season for digital space (non-exclusive). The base price was set at INR 110 million for every such game

Package D – This includes all encounters for combined TV and digital rights catering to the overseas markets, which had a base price of INR 30 million per game

TOTAL VALUES

Package A: INR 23,575 crore (INR 57.50 cr per game for as many as 410 matches)

Package B: INR 20,500 crore (INR 50 cr per match for same number of fixtures)

Package C: INR 3,257.52 crore (INR 33.24 cr per encounter for 98 special matches)

Package D: INR 1,058 crore (for combined TV, digital rights for overseas)

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Before the end of proceedings, BCCI Treasurer Arun tweeted saying, “So digital turned out to be bigger than linear TV this season in #IPLMediaRights. I would like to thank all the participants for their interest in the best “Made in India”  sports property. In my view the transparency of the whole process is truly Winner no.1.Big thanks to fans!”

When the opening day of the media rights auction commenced, on Sunday (June 12), it was revealed that IPL is now the second most lucrative sports league worldwide after the NFL. What started as a tournament with a lot of certainties riding on it, the IPL has come a long way since its inception in 2008. 

Thus, BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly also recently expressed his happiness seeing IPL’s remarkable rise and said while speaking at the India Leadership Council event, “I’ve seen the game evolve, where players like me earned a few hundreds and now have the potential of earning crores. This game is run by the fans, by the people of this country, and by the BCCI, which was formed by cricket fans. This sport is strong and will continue to evolve. The IPL generates more revenue than the English Premier League. It makes me feel happy and proud that the sport I love has evolved to become so strong.”