The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which owns the IPL, sold four media-rights packages in an auction that began on Sunday. Disney Star, which holds the global IPL media rights until 2023, won the television rights for the Indian sub-continent in Package A, while Viacom18 won the digital rights for the region in Package B. Viacom18 also won Package C, which included non-exclusive digital media rights. 18 matches. In Package D, which includes TV and digital rights for the rest of the world, Viacom18 got Australia, South Africa and the UK; And Times Internet conquered the Middle East and North Africa region and America.
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The rights were offered for the next five-year cycle of the IPL from 2023 to 2027. At the last auction in 2017, Star won all rights to Total 16,347.50 crore.
“Since its inception, IPL has been synonymous with growth, and today being a red letter day for India cricket, the brand is scaling a new height with the IPL e-auction resulting in a value of INR 48,390 crores. IPL is now the second most valuable sports league in the world in terms of value per match,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted after the auction ended.
However, the auction for both TV rights and digital media rights closed on Monday, with Disney Star and Viacom18 winning respectively. 23,575 crore and 20,500 crore, the BCCI’s formal announcement came after the auction ended on Tuesday.
“I am thrilled to announce that Star India has won the India TV rights with its bid 23,575 crores. This bid is a direct testimony to the organizational capabilities of the BCCI despite two pandemic years.” 23,758 crore, Shah said, “India has witnessed a digital revolution and the sector has endless possibilities. The digital landscape has changed the way cricket is viewed.”
Shah said that as a key stakeholder, the BCCI will do everything possible to help the rights-holders realize the full value of their investment. “BCCI will use the revenue from IPL to start our domestic cricket infrastructure from the ground up, boost infrastructure and facilities across India and enrich the overall cricket watching experience,” he added. As per the rules, 50% of the total revenue from media rights auction will be distributed equally among the 10 IPL franchises.
Interestingly, the competition between Sony and Viacom18 for Package C was high, even with Disney-Star pulling out earlier in the day. The package includes non-exclusive rights to 18 IPL matches including opening matches, playoffs and double-headers. As a result, the price per match for the package went up. 33.24 crores and was eventually acquired by Viacom18 3,273 crore for 98 matches in five years.
A person familiar with Viacom18’s bidding strategy said on condition of anonymity that the company is increasingly focusing on digital media rights. “It was very clear about not investing in legacy media. Streaming is the future, and it’s determined to make that business happen,” the person said. It was with an eye on the IPL rights, that in April, Bodhi Tree Systems, an investment platform by Lupa Systems of Uday Shankar and James Murdoch, agreed. to invest 13,500 crore in Viacom18, giving it around 40% of the company.
Commenting on Disney Star securing an exclusive television rights package for IPL 2023-27, Rebecca Campbell, President, International Content and Operations, The Walt Disney Company, said: The next five seasons across our portfolio of television channels. We placed disciplined bids with a focus on long term value. We decided not to go ahead with digital rights considering the cost required to secure that package.”
Campbell, who was in India to bid, said, “We will be exploring other multi-platform cricket rights, including future rights from the International Cricket Council (ICC) and BCCI, which we currently have in 2023 and 2024 respectively.” Keeps through the season. , Additionally, we have Pro Kabaddi League rights, Indian Super League football rights, as well as various international sports rights including Wimbledon Championship and English Premier League.” He added that the company was focused on growing its strong slate of original entertainment content. Disney+ For Hotstar and its regional television channels.
Karan Taurani, an analyst at Elara Capital, said, “In terms of break-even, we expect the TV medium to achieve profitability in the second year itself, as premiums were limited on the same over the base price.” However, he added that TV revenue is projected to grow in a narrow band of 6-8% over the next five years.
Taurani said that for the digital segment, the fourth year is anticipated to be a break-even due to heavy content costs, driven by a sharp premium on packages B and C of media rights. However, he added that digital has the potential to generate a gross margin of 24% in the fifth year compared to TV, helped by stronger growth prospects compared to TV, where the gross margin will be 13%.
Vineet Karnik, head of sports, e-sports and entertainment at GroupM (South Asia), said the auction was a big win for cricket and the IPL as it re-establishes confidence in the league. “For the first time, digital rights (price) surpassed TV rights, which is also in line with the trends in the media and entertainment industry. We will see a lot of new and innovative thinking from Disney Star and Viacom18 in terms of production, fan engagement and monetization strategy. Platform distribution, smart subscription packages, multi-layered engagement across social and digital, new and enhanced monetization models will be the keys to their success.”