One of the wealthiest cricket leagues in the world has just become a whole lot wealthier. In the following five years, the IPL’s broadcast rights auction will bring in a projected INR 48,390.5 crore (the US $6.2 billion approx.), making the league one of the richest in sports. IPL rights sold to Disney Star & Viacom 18.
At INR 23,575 crore (approximately $3 billion), Disney Star* has retained the rights to broadcast on television in the Indian subcontinent, while Viacom 18 has acquired the digital and television media rights in the same region, as well as media rights (both TV and digital) in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and South Africa for INR 23,758 crore (about $3 billion). The media rights for the Middle East and the United States, two additional worldwide areas, will belong to Times Internet (about INR 205 crore/US $26.27 million).
Viacom 18, which won the subcontinental streaming rights for all league games at Rs 50 crore (US$ 6.40 million approx.) a match, and then dedicated another INR 33.24 crore (US$ 4.26 million approx.) a match for a non-exclusive package of rising games (ranging between 18 and 22 matches), will effectively pay just over INR 58 crore (US$ 7.43 million approx.) per match. Globally, the IPL is presently just behind the NFL when it comes to per-match revenue.
There is a 2.96-fold or 196-percent increase in the IPL rights agreement (2018-22) of INR 16,347.5 crore (US$ 2.55 billion approx.) For the preceding five years, a cycle of 60 games each season was used. It has been announced that the IPL would play 74 games in 2023, 84 in 2025 and 26 in 2026, and up to 94 games in the last year of the contract in 2027 for the new five-year cycle.
In an e-auction that started on Sunday, June 12, the rights were sold. A, B, C, and D were the four categories in which rights were sold: A (TV rights in the Indian subcontinent), B (digital rights in the subcontinent), and C (digital rights in India for a special package of high-profile games-including the playoffs and the final-ranging between 18 and 22 per season) (global media rights across five separate regions).
There have been two e-auctions held by the BCCI so far, the first being the sale of India’s bilateral cricket rights in 2018. After signing a contract of INR 6138 crore (about US$ 944 million at the time), Star India was awarded worldwide media rights for Indian cricket (2018-23). Roughly half as much was spent on each game as the Indian Premier League did during this cycle, at about INR 60 crore (about US$ 9.2 million).
There will be a big influx of cash for IPL teams as well, as their share of central income is expected to grow to roughly INR 500 crore apiece.
Demand for Digital Rights
For the first time in this cycle, digital rights have eclipsed the value of TV and have been the primary driver of the value increase in IPL rights. Only the digital rights in the subcontinent were worth more than the worldwide consolidated rights [TV and digital] offered by Star India in 2017 by 13%. According to the highest offer for digital rights in 2017, Facebook paid INR 3900 crore (US$ 0.61 billion approx.) for the rights to the digital footprint in India.
One subcontinental bidder offered 17.3 percent more than the IPL’s basic price per match of INR 49 crore ($6.3 million approx.). An increase of 51.5 percent above the basic price of INR 33 crore (about US$ 4.2 million) was seen for digital rights in the area. INR 33.24 crore (US$ 4.26 million approx.) for each match is an increase of roughly 108 percent over the standard price of INR 16.24 crore (US$ 2.05 million approx.) per match for digital rights in India to select high-profile games.
There has been a shift from television to online viewing, says BCCI secretary Jay Shah. In 2017 there were 560 million digital viewers, and in 2021 there will be 665 million. According to him, it’s going to become much better in the future. India will have 900 million internet users by 2024.” However, there will be a shift in viewing from linear (TV) to digital (web), and that’s where the actual value lies.
International Content and Operations Chairman Rebecca Campbell at Disney Company commented about Disney Star’s concentration on television rights over digital: “We made disciplined bids with a focus on long-term value.” Our decision not to protect digital rights was based on the high cost.
In addition to our existing contracts with the ICC and BCCI, which run through the seasons of 2023 and 2024, we want to investigate further multiplatform cricket rights.
