BCCI expecting INR 45,000 crore from IPL media rights sale

The media rights for the most lucrative Twenty20 (T20) tournament globally, the Indian Premier League (IPL), are equally profitable. The current media rights cycle is coming to an end after IPL 2022. As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) begins the hunt for the following media rights cycle phase, it is again set to attract huge bucks.

Last year, the BCCI had already issued media rights documents, while the board plans on hosting an e-auction for the same next month, as the winner is likely to be decided before IPL 2022 commences, reports IANS. Media giants like Sony Sports Network, Disney Star Network, Reliance-Viacom 18, Amazon and many more are all set to participate in the bidding war. The rights will likely be for five IPL seasons (2023-27).

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The Invitation to Tender (ITT) will likely be issued on February 10, while the e-auction will be conducted 45 days since. Reports suggest that the bid amount could shatter records reaching around ₹45,000 crore, while BCCI president Sourab Ganguly predicts it to be about ₹35,000 crore. Between 2008-17, Star India and Sony Pictures Network held the rights for ₹8,200 crore, while Star has held it between 2018-22 for ₹16,347 crore.

The media rights sale will likely coincide with the IPL 2022 Mega Auction, slated to be held on February 12-13 in Bengaluru. In the meantime, Disney Star Network has already expressed its desire to bid more in the subsequent rights sale. Reliance-Viacom 18 and Amazon are likely to be the two surprise top bidders, while Sony's merger with ZEE has allowed it to expand its portfolio and can come all guns blazing during the auction. Also, Facebook and Google are expected to join the bidding.