Bids for Indian cricket’s media rights break records, BCCI richer by 6,032 crore and counting | Cricket - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Bids for Indian cricket’s media rights break records, BCCI richer by 6,032 crore and counting

Hindustan Times, Mumbai | BySanjjeev Samyal
Apr 04, 2018 08:34 PM IST

The e-auction of Indian cricket media rights will continue on Thursday, the third straight day when STAR, Sony and Jio are fighting for the global rights from 2018-2023.

Fears about the process of e-auction and the value of Indian cricket matches proved unfounded as Star India, Sony Pictures Network and Jio Infocomm’s tussle for BCCI’s media rights for the next five years has resulted in a record value for the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Indian cricket team’s media rights are likely to fetch the BCCI a record purse. The e-auction of the global rights (2018-2023) have gone to the third day in Mumbai.(AP)
Indian cricket team’s media rights are likely to fetch the BCCI a record purse. The e-auction of the global rights (2018-2023) have gone to the third day in Mumbai.(AP)

In a massive leap, the bidding via e-auction for BCCI media rights touched a record 6032.5 crore at the end of Wednesday, second day of the process.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

With the Indian team set to play 102 games at home in this cycle -- from April 15, 2018 to March 31, 2023 -- it means even at this value, BCCI will be paid around 59.14 crore per match.

READ | BCCI media rights e-auction: Suspense not over, bid reaches 4442 crore

And, the bidding is not over yet.

It has already exceeded the per match value of Indian Premier League. In IPL, BCCI is paid around 54.49 crore per match, though the overall value of the T20 league ( 16,347.5 crore) is unmatched because it has more matches.

After testing the waters over the first day-and-a-half, one of the parties (identity is secret in e-auction) made everyone at BCCI office jump out of their seats with a bid of 5488 crore, more than 900 crore higher than the previous one. In response, a bid of 5748 crore followed and the figure had jumped by more than 1300 crores from the closing bid ( 4442 crore) received by the end of the first day.

Overall, it’s going to be a massive jump. Star India had paid 3851 crore for the media rights from 2012 to 2018, for 96 matches, at 43 crore per game.

READ | Virat Kohli, Brendon McCullum, Yuzvendra Chahal get into the groove ahead of IPL 2018

The bidding opened on Tuesday at 4176.00 crore, next bid received was at 4201.20 crore, and 4244.00 crore. It moved up to 4303.00 crore and 4328.25 crore. 4442.00 crore was the last bid received on Day 1.

Reservations unfound

There were some reservations expressed over the decision to go for e-auction, but it has been a stunning success. The wide grin on BCCI CEO Rahul Johri’s face when action picked up mid-afternoon on Wednesday said it all. He has been under fire along with the Committee of Administrators for taking the call.

Experts had predicted that Sony and Star will face stiff competition from Reliance’s Jio if they decided to pitch in for the consolidated bid and the script seems to be holding true. Apart from its digital platform, the Reliance group has started showing sports on its TV channel, MTV, where the League Cup final between Manchester City and Arsenal was aired recently.

Stay updated with the latest Cricket News, IPL Live Scores, and get exclusive insights with the RR vs DC Live Score, IPL 2024 Schedule, match highlights, and more. Explore a comprehensive Cricket Schedule, track the race for the Purple Cap and Orange Cap in IPL 2024, check Virat Kohli performance and stay ahead with all the cricket-related updates on the Hindustan Times website and app.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On