Viacom18 has won the media rights to Indian cricket globally for INR 5963 crore (USD 720.60 million approx.) for the period 2023-27. The rights extend to all the cricket the BCCI runs in the country, international and domestic, apart from the IPL.
Viacom18 beat out two other bidders, Disney Star, and Sony, in an e-auction conducted by the BCCI on Thursday. In the digital category, Viacom18 bid INR 3101 crore (USD 374.70 million approx.), and it bid INR 2862 crore (USD 345.90 million approx.) for television rights. Disney Star and Sony's bids remain unconfirmed.
Viacom18's latest deal translates to an average per-match value of INR 67.75 crore, which is 12.92% higher than the INR 60 crore Star India had paid the BCCI in the previous cycle. For 2018-23, Disney Star, which was earlier Star India, had won worldwide rights to India's games for INR 6138 crore (then USD 944 million), for a total of 102 international matches. This time, the BCCI listed 88 international matches for the rights period.
The BCCI had put two categories of rights up for bidding: TV for the Indian subcontinent only (base price INR 20 crore, or USD 2.42 million approx.), and digital for the Indian subcontinent combined with TV and digital rights for rest of the world (base price INR 25 crore, or USD 3 million approx.).
BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted the news on Thursday evening.
Viacom18 is a joint venture between the Reliance Industry-owned Network 18 Group and Paramount Global. The company already owns digital rights for the IPL and both digital and TV rights for the Women's Premier League (WPL).
Last year, during the IPL media rights bidding, Viacom18 successfully secured the digital rights in the Indian subcontinent, as well as the TV and digital rights across three global regions: Australia + New Zealand, the UK, and South Africa. They acquired these rights for a staggering amount of INR 23,758 crore (equivalent to approximately USD 3 billion at that time). It is worth noting that Disney Star also emerged victorious in the IPL TV rights auction for the Indian subcontinent.
In a surprising turn of events, Viacom18 outperformed Disney Star once again by obtaining the global media rights for the WPL. They paid a substantial sum of INR 951 crore (around USD 116 million) for the period spanning from 2023 to 2027.
The IPL made significant strides last year, solidifying its position as one of the most valuable sporting events worldwide. It now stands proudly in second place, trailing only the NFL, in terms of per-match value. This achievement was made possible through the sale of five-year rights (2023-2027) for an astounding INR 48,390.5 crore (approximately USD 6.2 billion).
This is a major coup for Viacom18, which is now the undisputed leader in the Indian cricket media rights market. The company is expected to make significant investments in production and marketing to capitalize on this opportunity.
The rights to India's home bilateral games are a valuable asset, and the BCCI is expected to reap a windfall from this deal. The money generated from the rights will be used to support the development of cricket in India and around the world.
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