IPL Media Rights: E-Auction For Broadcast Rights Today, Know Base Price, Bidders — Key Details

Bezos-funded Amazon was expected to be one of the biggest bidders in digital space but pulled out of the race without revealing the reason

New Delhi:  The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to hold the next Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights e-auction on Sunday. The much-awaited e-auction for media rights from 2023 to 2027 will be held for the first time since the establishment of the IPL. BCCI will begin the online bidding for the rights at 11 am IST on Sunday, treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal told Reuters. Results are expected later on Sunday.

"IPL is the hottest property in cricket and it has just been expanded to a 10-team tournament, which means there will be more matches," Dhumal said. "All of it should reflect in the value of the new media rights, which we expect to be significantly higher than our previous deal." It is expected to be held for two days  -June 12 and 13, reported PTI. However, there is no deadline as the BCCI has left the possibility of the e-auction extending into the next few days. The auction will continue until all bids have been placed.

Which companies are in the fray?

Viacom18 JV (Joint Venture) with Lupa Systems (Uday Shankar and James Murdoch), Walt Disney (Star), Zee, Sony (both India media and digital rights). Bezos-funded Amazon was expected to be one of the biggest bidders in digital space but pulled out of the race without revealing the reason, reported PTI.

Times Internet, Fan Code, FunAsia, Dream11 (only digital rights).

Supersport (South Africa) and Sky Sports (UK) vying for Overseas TV and Digital rights.

What is the number of matches per season?

It is 74 with provision of going up to 94 in last 2 seasons.

What are the packages on offer?

A: TV Rights for the Indian sub-continent at Rs 49 crore per game.

B: Digital Rights for the Indian sub-continent at Rs 33 crore per game.

C: 18-match, non-exclusive digital package at Rs 11 crore per game.

D: Overseas TV and Digital Rights at Rs 3 crore per game.

What is the composite base price for all packages?

The total composite base price for all four packages is Rs 32,440 crore.

Break-up: Package A is Rs 18,130 cr (74x49x5)

Package B is Rs 12,210 cr (74x33x5)

Package C is Rs 990cr (18x11x5)

Package D is Rs 1110cr (74x3x5)

e-Auction

Just like last time, it will be an e-auction where companies can raise their bid by 50 crore in one go. E-auction is transparent but time-consuming.

Expected winning bid

The BCCI is expecting that over and above their Rs 32,440 crore composite base price, it could earn another 12,000 to 12,500 crore which may take the valuation up to Rs 45,000 crore, according to a PTI report.