Viacom18 wins digital rights to the IPL, while Disney opts for legacy media

14 Jun 2022 , 09:43 AM

Viacom 18 has secured the digital rights to the Indian Premier League, while Disney has secured the legacy media rights for the next five years.

While Package A (Legacy Media Rights) was won for massive Rs23,575 crore, or roughly Rs7.5 crore each game, Package B (Digital Rights) was secured for Rs20,500 crore, or around Rs50 crore per match, by Reliance Industries-owned Viacom 18. After selling the two packages, the BCCI has gained a total of Rs44,075 crore.

Interestingly, these groups had reserve prices of Rs49 crore and Rs33 crore, respectively. This amount is more than double the amount paid by Star in 2017, which was Rs16,347.5 crore (54.5 crore per match) for 60 matches each year.

Another Rs2,000 crore was offered for Package C, which comprises a select non-exclusive digital rights contract when the auctions ended on the second day. The auction, which is already on its third day, will resume on Tuesday with Package C.

The cricket board has earned a whopping sum of Rs46,000 crore, which is more than twice the value of the 2018 auction, which was Rs16,347 crore.

The following is the breakdown of the 410 matches across five years: 74 matches each for 2023 and 2024. In 2025 and 2026, there will be 84 games, and in 2027, there will be 94 games.

During the initial round of bidding, increments of Rs50 lakh were used, and once the winner of Package A challenged the highest bidder of Package ‘B,’ the incremental bid value was worth Rs1 crore.

Package D, which has a base value of Rs3 crore for global TV and digital rights, will face stiff competition from Zee, which is led by former BCCI CEO Rahul Johri during the auction.