Viacom18, owned by Reliance Industries, won digital rights in Package B at an offer of Rs 23,758 Cr in Monday’s media rights auction of IPL. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah announced on Tuesday the winners in the IPL media rights auction, held over a period of three days, which resulted in a record Rs 48,390 crore worth for the IPLs five-year run. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has earned Rs 48,390 crore following the sale of media rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the 2023-2027 cycle, as a result of the three-day online auction held on Tuesday, in which Disney Star retained TV rights and Viacom18 landed the digital properties of Indian Subcontinent.
Notably, Star India-Disney had previously acquired media rights of the Indian Premier League for the 2018-22 cycle, in September 2017, winning the bidding of Rs16,347.50 crore, both TV and digital. While Star renewed their TV deal, buying package A at Rs 23.575 crore, Viacom 18 has been given exclusive digital rights across the subcontinent at Rs 23.758 crore, also having rights for Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, whereas Times Internets acquisition has got the rights of MENA and US, which has won rights elsewhere, said BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
Package A (for TV) was sold to Star India for Rs 23,575 crores, or Rs 57.5 crores for every game, and Package B (for digital rights) and Package C (for selecting 18 games per season on the digital realm) was sold to Viacom18 for Rs 23,758 crores. As a result of winning, Viacom18, a company owned by Reliance, ended up paying Rs 23,758 crore for the whole bouquet of digital rights.
Viacom18 bags digital rights with its winning bid of Rs 23,758 cr. India has seen a digital revolution & the sector has endless potential. The digital landscape has changed the way cricket is watched. It has been a big factor in the growth of the game & the Digital India vision.
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) June 14, 2022
Viacom18 also won package C, which is a customized segment for 98 matches over five years, which pays Rs 3,273 crore. The total paid by Viacom18 for Package B and Package C is slightly higher than the one paid by Disney Star (Rs 23,575 crore) for the retention of its TV broadcast rights. Disney Star retained its Indian Subcontinent TV rights at Rs 23,575 crore (Rs 57.5 crore/game).
It is a celebratory moment for Indian cricket, with the IPL TV rights prices rising nearly three times from a previous deal worth Rs 16,347.50, reaching a progressive number of Rs 47,332.52 crores for TV rights and digital rights. The BCCI is on course to make a massive sum of INR 48,390 crore for media rights over a five-year cycle (2023-27), the E-auction for which was finally completed Tuesday, following intense bidding amongst party stakeholders.
