The Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights seem to be heading to an interesting end similar to many clashes in the recently concluded 15th edition. The first of its kind, the e-auction which began on June 12 saw many giants engaging in an intense bidding war to get the broadcasting rights on various platforms.
According to the numbers conveyed to Sports Tak by a source, the rights for TV and digital combined for a single game have crossed the Rs 100-crore mark. The TV rights are at Rs 57 crore whereas digital rights are Rs 48 crore per game at the end of Day 1 bidding.
The auctions for Packages A and B which were set at a base price of Rs 32,440 crore by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), have now crossed the Rs 43,000 crore-mark.
To compare the prices, in 2017, Star India paid Rs 54.5 crore per match for the IPL media rights in 2017. This included Television rights and streaming as well. However, these numbers are not final for Packages A and B. Also, the auction for Packages C and D is yet to commence. Package C includes rights for 18 exclusive matches' overseas TV and digital rights. On the other hand, Package D includes overseas rights for television and digital.
On June 13, the final number will be revealed. The overall price will go up as BCCI is planning to add 10-20 more matches in the next two years. In 2022's 10-team IPL, there were 74 league matches and four playoffs encounters.
Here are the base prices –
Package A - Rs 49 crore per match
Package B - Rs 33 crore per match
Package C - Rs 11 crore per game
Package D - Rs 3 crore per game
Currently, it is a three-way race between Star India, Sony and Reliance-Viacom joint venture.
