IPL Media Rights Auction | Star India wins domestic TV rights with bid of Rs 23,575 crore

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Star India has won the television rights for the domestic broadcast of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on June 14.

The rights, for the 2023-27 cycle, were awarded to the media house for a bid of Rs 23,575 crore, BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted.

"I am thrilled to announce that STAR INDIA wins India TV rights with their bid of Rs 23,575 crores. The bid is a direct testimony to the BCCI’s organizational capabilities despite two pandemic years (sic)," he tweeted.

Star, owned by US media giant Walt Disney, said it is pleased to extend the association with IPL for the next five seasons. "IPL is an important component of our portfolio of television channels in India, providing an incredible opportunity for us to showcase Walt Disney ’s powerful global brands and iconic storytelling, as well as Disney Star’s impressive collection of local original content, to millions of viewers in India," said Rebecca Campbell, Chairman, International Content and Operations, Walt Disney.

Also Read: IPL Media Rights Auction | Viacom18 bags digital bundle at Rs 20,500 crore for 2023-27 cycle

Star, which was outmatched by Viacom18 with its bid for digital rights, said they only made "disciplined bids" with a focus on long-term value. "We chose not to proceed with the digital rights given the price required to secure that package," Campbell added.

In the 2018-2022 media rights cycle, the TV rights were bagged with a bid of 11,410 crore. While the amount has more than doubled for the next four-year cycle, the advertisement rates are likely to go up by 10 percent, experts said.

"Ad rates will be about 10 percent upwards on TV and digital will be around 30 percent higher," said Karan Taurani, senior vice-president, Elara Capital.

The ad rates during the recently-concluded IPL edition ranged between Rs 15-18 lakh for a 10-second slot and for digital, advertisers paid between Rs 199-277 per CPM (cost per mille/thousand impressions) for 10-second ads.

Also Read | BCCI has sold IPL media rights for Rs 48,390 crore. Time is ripe for Women's IPL

In 2022, it is estimated that 54.5 percent of IPL revenue came from TV advertising, 10.9 percent from TV subscriptions, 21.8 percent from over-the-top (OTT) subscriptions, and 12.7 percent from OTT advertising. This is expected to change to 50.8 percent from TV advertising, 9.6 percent from TV subscriptions, 24.3 percent from OTT subscriptions, and 15.3 percent from ads on OTT.

In terms of sheer valuation, IPL will now be bracketed in the top-most sporting properties alongside National Football League (USA), National Basketball Association (USA) and English Premier League (England), the most-watched sporting event in the world.

The league, started 15 years ago, was aired on Sony platforms. The media entity had acquired the rights by paying Rs 8,200 crore for the first 10 years (2008-17), while Star with a bid price of 16,347.50 won it for the next five years.

Sony, which participated in the latest auctions, was not able to swing back the TV rights for domestic broadcast.

"The IPL began with SPN (Sony Pictures Networks) and has since developed into one of the world's most popular sporting leagues in its 15-year history. We've seen the league grow and would have liked to see it on the Sony Network again. In this regard, we made a reasonable bid, considering all the expected returns," said NP Singh, MD & CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India.

Viacom18, another participant in the auctions, won the "Package C", where digital rights of 18 non-exclusive marquee games per season were up for grabs with a bid of Rs 2,991.6 crore at the rate of Rs 33.24 crore per match. There are 90 matches in this package.

The value of per IPL match made more than a 100 percent jump from the previous Rs 54.5 crore to above Rs 114 crore (approximately). Globally, the per match value (USD 14.61 million) in IPL is second only to NFL where every match is worth $17 million.

The auctions, apart from witnessing the participation of Sony, Star and Viacom18, also received bids from Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), one of the country's most seasoned media houses. While the company did not succeed in grabbing the broadcast or digital rights, it lauded the BCCI for conducting a smooth and transparent e-auction process. "At ZEE, we evaluate all business decisions through the prism of value creation for all our stakeholders and we will continue to evaluate every sports property with the same prism," ZEEL Business President Rahul Johri said.

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