IPL Media Rights Fetch BCCI Rs 48,390 Crore, Viacom18 Ends Disney Star's Monopoly

The BCCI on Tuesday reaffirmed its status as a cricketing behemoth by securing one of the biggest broadcast deals in the history of the sport, fetching Rs 48,390 crore ($6.2 billion) through IPL media rights for the five-year period starting 2023.

While Disney Star retained the Indian sub-continent TV rights with a bid of Rs 23,575 crore (Rs 57.5 crore per game), the India digital rights deal was acquired for Rs 20,500 crore by Reliance-backed Viacom18, which also won the non-exclusive Package C by paying another Rs 2,991 crore.

The deal for package A and B is for 410 matches across five years with 74 matches each in 2023 and 2024 and 84 each in 2025 and 2026. The 2027 edition will have 94 games.

Viacom18 entered the fray through a consortium which has former Star India head Uday Shankar (Bodhi Tree) and James Murdoch (Lupa Systems) in it.

"I am thrilled to announce that STAR INDIA wins India TV rights with their bid of Rs 23,575 crores. The bid is a direct testimony to the BCCI's organisational capabilities despite two pandemic years," BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted.

"Since its inception, the IPL has been synonymous with growth & today is a red-letter day for India Cricket, with Brand IPL touching a new high with e-auction resulting in INR 48,390 cr value. IPL is now the 2nd most valued sporting league in the world in terms of per match value," Shah added.

The IPL, in terms of valuation, will now be bracketed in the top-most sporting properties alongside National Football League (U.S.), National Basketball Association (U.S.) and English Premier League (England), the most-watched sporting event in the world.

The new deal also ends the monopoly of a single broadcaster. Sony had acquired the rights by paying Rs 8,200 crore for the first 10 years (2008-17) while Star with a bid price of Rs 16,347.50 crore won it for the next five years.

Viacom18 won Package C, where digital rights of 18 non-exclusive marquee games per season were up for grabs, for Rs 2,991.6 crore at the rate of Rs 33.24 crore per match. There are 90 matches in this package.

Package D, with a base price of Rs 3 crore per game with overseas TV and digital rights, was sold for more than Rs 1,300 crore to Viacom18 and Times Internet.

The value of per IPL match more than doubled from the previous Rs 54.5 crore to above Rs 114 crore. Globally, the per match value ($14.61 million) for IPL is second only to NFL's $17 million.