Coming Up: A Rs 400 Billion Auction For IPL/ICC Rights
ACCORDING TO ESTIMATES BY POTENTIAL BIDDERS, THE IPL WINNING BID COULD BE DOUBLE WHAT STAR TV PAID (RS 16,347 CRORE/RS 163.47 BILLION) FOR THE FIVE YEARS WHICH END IN 2022 BECAUSE THERE ARE NOW TWO MORE TEAMS AND OVER 14 ADDITIONAL MATCHES.
Broadcasting and digital companies are readying themselves with a war chest of Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) to join the country's biggest-ever auction of sports rights next year. Up for grabs are two of the most coveted cricketing properties in the world. According to sources, the tender for the five-year broadcasting and digital rights which begin from 2023 for the Indian Premier League is expected to come sometime this month-end or the latest by January. The auction is expected to be held in February.
In the recent World Cup T20, the India-Pakistan match registered a record number of viewers for the ICC. Around 167 million people watched India lose. Despite India's poor performance, viewers consumed 112 billion minutes on Star TV on television throughout the competition. That is why the ICC is planning to leverage this popularity by selling the rights based on territories, rather than the entire rights, and clearly, the subcontinent is by far the most lucrative territory.