ICC explains reasons behind not having e-auction for Media Rights tender

The ICC has released its initial Invitation To Tender (ITT) for its media rights post 2023. However, it would not be having an e-auction, unlike the IPL, and has explained its reason.

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After the Indian Premier League (IPL) drew lucrative media rights from its 2023-24 cycle, it is time for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to seal its media rights deal post 2023. ICC’s current media rights deal with Star Sports for the sub-continent ends after the ICC World Cup 2023. On the same note, the ICC wants to begin its new media rights deal with the sub-continent region, which will likely draw the most lucrative bid of all territories. However, it has decided against having an e-auction, a process that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) used for the IPL.

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Explaining the reason for the same, the ICC inferred its intricacy regarding the rights. ICC’s chief commercial officer Anurag Dahiya stated, “It would be wrong to say there is no transparency. We are not using the e-auction clearly because we have a complicated set of rights. We are inviting sealed bids, a methodology we employed in the past. It is not a straightforward single territory and single package of rights. We have different combinations.”

“We sell men’s and women’s rights separately and test the market for four and eight years. And then there is the packaging of digital and TV. To address all that, an e-auction is too complicated. That is why we have remained with a sealed bid methodology. It is not unusual what we are doing,” added Dahiya, reports IANS.

The ICC has done away with its composite global bid for all regions and has not fixed a base price, while the winners would be announced during September’s opening week, with the bid deadline being August 22. “Our philosophy has been to have direct contact with the broadcasters who have been servicing our fans. To achieve that, we thought it was best to go territory by territory,” Dahiya concluded.