The Indian Premier League (IPL) Media Rights bidding is underway and the hype around it is only soaring. The IPL per match value for TV & digital (India only) has gone past Rs 100 crore mark as per Sports Tak. In the previous rights cycle, it stood at Rs 54.5 crore. As of now the IPL media rights' bids have gone Rs 42,000 crore as the auction is still underway.
The bidding will be done across four categories —TV, digital, non-exclusive digital and Rest of the World. The media rights auction of a T20 league could be played out like a Test match. It’s going to be a long drawn out process. Bids will be conducted per match basis, not for the entire season or the entire five-year cycle. The minimum bid increment (MBI) value is Rs 50 lakh and to maintain complete transparency, all the parties concerned, including the BCCI, will not get to see the bids until the highest bids are flashed on the monitor.
This year, global giants like Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), Reliance-Viacom 18 and Disney Star Network are in the fray to grab the rights to the event. Unlike the closed bidding in 2017, this year, the participants can withdraw their bid after a certain stage. The auction packed auction started at 11am on Sunday (June 12).
Four-pack offerings
There are four packages – A, B, C and D. Package A is the TV rights for the Indian subcontinent only. Package B deals with the digital rights for the Indian subcontinent. Package C has a special bouquet of matches, with non-exclusive digital rights for the Indian subcontinent. This includes tournament openers and playoffs. At the moment, the number is 18, with a total of 74 games to be played in the tournament. In the future, if the total number of matches increases, the number of games in Package C will rise in a ratio of two for every 10 games. For example, if the total number of matches rises to 84, Package C will offer a bouquet of 10 games. This has been introduced to attract companies who are willing to get a small share of the cricket pie, fetching the cricket board big money in the process. Package D contains the world rights for TV and digital.
Package bonanza
Package A
TV rights for the Indian subcontinent
Base price Rs 49 crore per game
Package B
Digital rights for the Indian subcontinent
Base price Rs 33 crore per game
Package C
A bouquet of 18 matches with non-exclusive digital rights
Base price Rs 11 crore per game
World rights for TV and digital – Base price Rs 3 crore
Total base price all combined is set at Rs 32,890 crore
