IPL 2023 Broadcasting Rights: Currently, IPL has broadcasting rights to various television channels, including Times Internet, Viacom 18, and Amazon Prime Sport. In the coming 2023 season, the cricket league will receive even more broadcasting rights, including the Indian cricket board (BCCI), ESPN, and more.
Viacom18
Earlier this year, Viacom18, a venture between Reliance Industries and Paramount Global, announced a multi-billion dollar deal for the Indian Premier League broadcasting rights. The deal comes as Viacom18 plans to strengthen its traditional television broadcasting, as well as expand its digital platform. This includes the launch of two new streaming products in India.
Viacom18's joint venture with Reliance Industries will be paid by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the media rights of IPL matches in the Indian subcontinent from 2023 to 2027. This includes TV rights for 410 matches and digital rights for a special package of 18 matches in each season. In addition, Viacom18 will be able to broadcast the IPL in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, South Africa, North America, and the Middle East.
Viacom18 is backed by former Disney executive Uday Shankar and James Murdoch's media company, Bodhi Tree. The company is set to take on a slew of traditional and OTT competition.
Viacom18 is planning to make the cash-rich IPL available to every Indian. It hopes to capitalize on its vast distribution capabilities and wide digital reach. However, it's not clear whether advertisers will be willing to pay a high price for sports content. In the past few seasons, digital viewership in India has grown. IPL matches have generated the largest number of online viewers in history.
In addition to the IPL, Viacom18's digital content offerings include sports on Voot. Voot is also accessible through Reliance-owned Jio.
Viacom18 is hoping to leverage its extensive digital reach to help attract advertisers. The company will have to show advertisers that it can deliver to the right demographics. Additionally, it may need to raise IPL ad rates. If it can do so, Viacom may also offer fantasy sports.
Viacom18's deal will cost 6.4 million dollars per game. This may be too high a price, considering that IPL ad rates already run at premium rates. But Viacom is betting on a shift to OTT as consumers move from traditional television to online streaming.
Viacom18 will make IPL available to 60 million FreeDish homes. In addition, Viacom18's digital rights include exclusive coverage in India, South Africa, Australia, the UK, and the Middle East.
Times Internet
Earlier this week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced its five-year media rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL). In the process, it divided the rights into four packages. One of the packages was for television rights in the Indian subcontinent. Other packages were for digital rights and overseas broadcasting rights.
The process was a two-day affair with intense bidding and negotiations. The final seven bidders were Sony Pictures Networks India, Amazon, Google, Supersport, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Star Sports, and Viacom.
In the end, the IPL broadcasting rights auction was won by Star Sports. It has secured television rights for the five-year cycle from 2023 to 2027.
The IPL will be spread across the world and will be televised in India and overseas markets. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will earn INR 118 crore per match. The BCCI's total media rights revenue is estimated to be 48,390 crores over the next five years.
Interestingly, the BCCI split digital rights into four packages. This was done to maximize the value. Package A is for television rights in the Indian subcontinent. It includes the broadcast of the IPL in India, the UK, and South Africa. Package B deals with digital rights in the Indian subcontinent, MENA, and the UK. The digital rights base price is INR 12,210 crore. Package C is for selected matches per season. It includes ten-second TV slots. Package D is for TV and digital rights in the rest of the world.
Times Internet has won the rest of the international digital rights. The company has won digital rights for the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and North Africa. The company has also secured mobile media rights. It is operating a popular streaming app, Willow TV.
The company has invested in over 50 start-ups in the technology space. The company is also a joint venture between Reliance Industries and Paramount Global. It is hoping to tap into the growing consumer shift to OTT.
In addition to television rights, Star India has secured the rights to broadcast the IPL in the subcontinent. This will be followed by another partnership between Viacom and Times Internet.
Amazon Prime Sport
During the past two years, Amazon Prime has made a few forays into the sports streaming space, most notably, its acquisition of the English Premier League. It also forged a multi-year deal to broadcast Thursday Night Football in the US at $1bn a season until 2033. The company has also nailed up New Zealand broadcast rights for Indian territory.
While the deal will certainly boost Amazon's sports offerings, it will also be a significant setback for the IPL. The company has already secured some cricket matches on its Prime Video service, and the prospect of being able to broadcast all IPL matches would have added even more subscribers.
Interestingly, Amazon was expected to be the lead player in acquiring streaming rights across global sports. But in fact, it is not the only company with deep pockets. The competition is intense, and the winner could have an impact on the price of a media property.
The IPL has been a major driver in digital natives adopting Star's OTT service. This is because the league was the first in India to adopt the concept of simultaneous broadcasting. The idea was borrowed from the UK Premier League.
The biggest challenge for Star is to challenge itself as a television channel, as well as a streaming service. Its competitors include Disney, Reliance Industries, Viacom, and Sony.
The IPL is a cult event in India. It is often compared to the Super Bowl in the US, due to its popularity as a sporting event. And the IPL is the largest consumer market open to foreign firms. With that in mind, the IPL media rights are expected to fetch bids of over Rs.45,000 crore.
The IPL's media rights are up for grabs in December. The winner is expected to pay a record-breaking 50,000 crore rupees, which will be the largest sum ever paid for an Indian sporting event. The winner will also be expected to secure millions of new subscribers. The winning bidder will be able to recoup their investment and re-invest in the league's future.
The IPL's media rights have been a long time in the making. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced a bidding process in December. The winners will be announced in March.
BCCI
Having secured 48,390 crores from the IPL 2023-27 broadcasting rights, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is on course to collect a staggering 50,000 crores. The total value of the IPL rights has doubled to US$ 5.10 billion, making it the second-largest sporting league in the world.
The BCCI has sold four packages for IPL media rights. These packages include television and digital rights for the Indian subcontinent, the rest of the world, and the USA. The first deal saw Disney Star pay Rs 23,575 crore for television rights and Rs 13,500 crore for digital rights. The second deal saw Times Internet buy IPL rights for the Indian subcontinent, the UK, and the USA.
The BCCI has announced that IPL will have 84 matches in 2024, an increase from 74 matches. In the next three years, the IPL will feature two new teams. In 2025, the tournament will feature 94 matches.
BCCI will earn 48,390 crores from its media rights. Its total revenue from IPL will be 118 crores per match. Among the competitors for the rights are Sony Pictures Networks India, Viacom 18, Google, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Dream11.
Sony Pictures Networks India and Star India were the only bidders to confirm their rights to broadcast IPL. They were awarded media rights to the Indian subcontinent in 2017. The other bidders included Times Internet, Zee Entertainment, Airtel, Jio, Facebook, and Baseline Ventures.
Viacom 18 entered the bidding through a consortium led by former Star India head Uday Shankar and former Lupa Systems head James Murdoch. The group paid an additional Rs 2,991 crore for the IPL media rights.
The IPL is expected to be the second-largest sports league in the world, with revenue exceeding Rs 100 crore per match. With continued interest, the league will likely attract more sponsors and spend more money. It will also be difficult for BCCI to manage two broadcasters.
The media rights for the IPL 2023-27 cycle will be sold through an e-auction on June 12. The bid documents are expected to be picked up by at least ten companies. The Invitation to Tender will be issued when the non-refundable deposit of Rs 25 lakh is received.