The media rights auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the biggest cricketing properties in the world, will see bidding for the next cycle of 2023-2027 from top broadcasters, and over-the-top (OTT) players on June 12.
On March 29, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced the release of invitation to tender for the media rights cycle, which is divided into four categories. The overall base price of the media rights is estimated at Rs 32,890 crore.
What will be the bidding schedule?
The bidding for the media rights cycle, which will begin on June 12, is expected to be held in two phases. Bidding for TV and digital rights will be held on Day One, while the remaining rights, which include non-exclusive digital rights and global rights will be held on June 13.
What are the different bundles of media rights?
The first bundle comprises broadcast/TV rights of the Indian subcontinent for all games with an estimated base price of Rs 49 crore per match while the second package includes digital rights for the Indian subcontinent (all games) with a base price of around Rs 33 crore for each game. The third bundle offers digital rights for 18 games, including the opening match, four playoff games and 13 evening double header matches. This package is non-exclusive and has a base price of Rs 16 crore per game. The last package is for TV and digital rights for rest of the world with a base price of Rs 3 crore per match. The bidder who wins Package 1 will have the right to rebid for the second package, and the winner of Package 2 will have the right to rebid for the third package.
What is the base price of each media rights bundle?
The base price of the first two bundles is Rs 18,130 crore and Rs 12,210 crore respectively, for 74 games, while the base price of the next two bundles is Rs 1,440 crore and Rs 1,110 crore respectively.
What will be the bidding process?
The media rights bidding which will take place through an e-auction process will be conducted by e-auction platform Mjunction, a joint venture between Tata Steel and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). Bidders will place their bids from their respective places, and names of the bidders will not be displayed while the process is on. Bidders will have 30 minutes to make a counter against the highest bid. The highest bidding price will be displayed on the screen.
How many games will the 5-year media rights cycle witness?
The first two years of the media rights will see 74 games. This will move up to 84 matches in the next two years. The number of matches are expected to increase to 94 matches in the last year of the media rights cycle.
Who are eligible to participate in the bid?
Indian broadcasters with net worth of more than Rs 1,000 crore are eligible to bid for TV rights for Package 1. For the remaining packages, companies with minimum net worth of Rs 500 crore are eligible to bid. An India broadcaster, an India internet operator, and an India mobile player alone can bid for Package 2, said an Elara Securities report. All the above, along with an international broadcaster, an international internet operator and an international mobile company can bid for Package 3 and Package 4. Zee, Sony, Jio, and Google are in the bidding race.
Who are in the bidding race?
The media rights auction of IPL, one of the most sought-after properties, is expected to see participation from companies like Zee Entertainment, Viacom18, Disney Star, Sony Pictures Television Networks, and SUN TV, according to reports. Even streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and digital sports platform Fancode are in the bidding race. Zee Entertainment, during its Q4 FY22 earnings conference call, had said that the company can participate in the IPL media rights bidding on its own. Punit Goenka, MD and CEO, had said that the company has a healthy balance sheet with zero debt to participate in the bidding on its own. "Certainly, we have the qualifications to participate in the tender," he had said.
What is the expected value of TV, digital and overall media rights?
The base price of the overall IPL media rights is Rs 32,890 crore, and this is expected to increase up to Rs 50,000 - 60,000 crore for the five-year media rights cycle at the upcoming auction. TV rights are expected to touch Rs 24,400 crore, while digital is expected to move up to Rs 21,900 crore, with the highest growth in media rights value. In the 2018-2022 media rights cycle, digital media rights value stood at Rs 4,040 crore, and TV rights at Rs 11,410 crore.
Why digital media rights will see higher growth?
Digital media rights value is expected to see 6-7x growth in the next media rights cycle versus the previous cycle of 2018-2022. One reason for this is strong viewership growth on digital. Over the years, the digital viewership of IPL has grown from 327 million in FY20 to 421 million in FY22. Compare this with TV viewership ― it dropped from 462 million in FY20 to 380 million in FY22.
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