IPL rights sold for nearly $7.1 billion

MUMBAI • The media rights auction for the world's richest cricket league spilled over into a third day, with broadcast and digital rights for the Indian sub-continent already fetching the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) almost US$5.1 billion (S$7.1 billion), two sources told Reuters yesterday.

The online auction, which began last Sunday, is yet to conclude bidding for another set of media rights, including a bespoke package that includes rights for high-value matches as well as rights to broadcast the Indian Premier League (IPL) in foreign territories.

The bidding for television broadcast and online streaming of the matches in the sub-continent concluded yesterday, one of the sources said.

The New York Times reported that Viacom18 - a joint venture between Paramount and India's Reliance Industries - won the streaming rights for nearly US$3 billion.

That price is a significant increase compared with the US$2.5 billion price that 21st Century Fox paid for the combined TV and streaming rights package in 2017. Disney took over the rights when it bought Fox in 2019.

According to reports, Disney has retained TV rights for the Indian sub-continent.

A top BCCI official said those TV rights had attracted the highest bid of 575 million rupees (S$10.2 million) per match.

"The bidding went well and it's not over yet," the BCCI official told Reuters. "It's been fairly satisfying and we are confident of an impressive number tomorrow."

A second BCCI source confirmed the bidding amounts.

The online auction for television and digital broadcast rights from 2023 to 2027 to the IPL, the hugely popular two-month, 74-game, cricket league that draws top television ratings, began last Sunday morning.

At US$13.4 million per match, the league's broadcast deal means Indian cricket, on a per-match basis, surpasses English Premier League football (about US$11 million per match).

REUTERS, NYTIMES