IPL 2023-2027: Who has the upper hand in winning the media rights?

Yet another successful edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) concluded a few days back. The 2022 edition of the tournament had a lot of excitement – being held in India after two years of being held in the UAE, spectators being allowed back in the stadiums, and addition of two new teams – incidentally, one of these two new teams, Gujarat Titans, went on to win the IPL 2022 trophy.

“With 2 new teams, more matches, more engagement, more venues, we are looking to take #TataIPL to newer and greater heights,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced in March.

Star India currently has the media rights for IPL – both television and Digital – which it won five years ago for a sum of Rs 16,347.5 crore ($2.55 billion). The five year media rights period has now come to an end and in March 2022, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced release of ‘Invitation to Tender’ (ITT) for media rights to the Indian Premier League Seasons 2023-2027. Interested bidders could purchase the ITT document, which contains detailed terms and conditions governing the tender process, including eligibility requirements, process for submissions of bids, proposed media rights packages, and obligations, etc., on payment of a non-refundable fee of Rs 25 lakh, plus GST of Rs 4.5 lakh. The last date to purchase the ITT document was May 10, 2022.

The e-auction of media rights for IPL 2023-27 is set to be held on June 12, 2022, and speculations are rife over the contenders for these rights this time. This is for the first time that e-auction is being held for the IPL. Previously, in 2018, the BCCI had employed the e-auction method for the sale of India international cricket rights. Initially, there was internal confusion within the BCCI to go for the close-envelop bid method or e-auction. The body finally decided to go for the latter in view of the transparency that it provides.

Avid cricket fans, marketers, and the entire cricket fraternity not just within India but from all around the world are waiting for the e-auction to unfold. Industry stakeholders and international cricket bodies such as the office-bearers of Cricket Australia (CA), the International Cricket Council (ICC), England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will keep a close watch on the e-auction.

The IPL now commands immense media rights value for the BCCI, something to the tune of Rs 50,000 crore. It is estimated that the value of TV rights alone could surpass Rs 20,000 crore. And it is expected that the digital rights, which have been steadily growing, could come near to the TV rights. In 2017, Facebook was the biggest bidder for the digital rights (Rs 3,900 crore).

A windfall

BCCI is expecting a windfall from the IPL media rights for 2023-27. BCCI has set the base price for this period at Rs 32,890 crore. While the base price for TV rights has been fixed at Rs 49 crore per match, that for digital rights has been fixed at Rs 33 crore per match.

BCCI office-bearers, while refusing to share any numbers on the media rights, are confident that it will be a record-breaking figure. Industry insiders, too, are confident that the number will surely cross the Rs 50,000-crore mark for the five-year period.

The value of each match is estimated to surpass the Rs 100-crore mark. In such a scenario, industry experts estimate that the IPL will become the second most expensive sporting property in the world, only behind America’s National Football League (NFL). The per-match value of NFL is in the range of Rs 134 crore per match.

In addition to India, the IPL will be broadcast across various countries in the subcontinent such as Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Maldives, and Bangladesh. It will be broadcast in seven languages – English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Bengali, Telugu, and Malayalam.

Top contenders

The e-auction for 2023-27 will be the largest ever in the history of sports. No wonder, all the leading players in India – from legacy players to new-age digital entities – are out there to win the bidding war.

We have seen how IPL has changed the fortunes of Sony in India. So is the case with Disney Star, which grabbed the IPL media rights after Sony. It is a known fact that IPL can change the fortunes of a media company. As far as a broadcaster is concerned, sports is essential to bring in advertising money, and increase subscribers. To put things into perspective, Star would charge Rs 14 lakh just for a 10-second ad slot in 2021. Indeed, Hotstar’s popularity surged and subscribers increased in India, primarily on account of live cricket. One need not look elsewhere for the reason for astronomical increase in the IPL media rights and the mad rush to win the race.

The value of IPL during the 2018-22 time period was Rs 16,348 crore with Disney Star bagging the rights. The value of per match was set at Rs 54 crore. Disney Star, with its legacy and deep pockets, is eager to retain the rights and has stated its willingness to splurge in the bidding process.

At least ten companies, which include, among others, Zee Entertainment, Google, Disney-Star, Amazon, Apple, Sony, SuperSport and Sky Sports UK have obtained the bid documents after paying the BCCI the requisite non-refundable amount.

Another prime contender is the Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI). Sony, which retained the media rights for 10 years (from Seasons 1 to 10), had paid Rs 8,200 crore for the rights. SPNI, after its merger with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, is eager to get back the IPL property.

Other major players in this bidding battle for IPL rights are Reliance-owned Viacom18 and Amazon. Viacom18, armed with the investment by the James Murdoch-Uday Shankar duo, will bid for IPL media rights. Reliance has recently picked up the media rights of a couple of sports properties such as Abu Dhabi T10 (cricket), FIFA World Cup 2022, Spanish football league La Liga, and the NBA (National Basketball Association).

Amazon’s Prime Video, which has already started live-streaming cricket matches and is eager to increase its subscriber base in India, is another major contender in this high-profile bid for the IPL digital rights.

We have to wait till June 12 to see who will win this eagerly awaited bidding process.