Google joins Amazon in mulling a bid for coveted IPL

Alphabet Inc., owner of the ubiquitous search engine Google, has flagged an interest in bidding for the broadcast rights of the Indian Premier League, or IPL, joining the ranks of half a dozen media giants vying for the coveted asset in cricket-crazy India.

The American tech company, which also has the video-streaming website YouTube, purchased the bid-related documents from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, or BCCI, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named as the information isn’t public. SuperSport, a South Africa-based group of television channels, bought the documents too, according to a person familiar.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd., Sony Group Corp., homegrown Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., Amazon.com Inc., The Walt Disney Co. and fantasy-sports platform Dream11 have also signaled their interest by purchasing these information dockets from BCCI, Bloomberg reported earlier.

Google’s interest in the global media rights of India’s top cricket league intensifies the fight for a sports event that has emerged as the world’s third-largest, trailing only the Premier League and the National Football League in terms of viewers. Last year’s edition of the IPL brought in 600 million viewers, according to BCCI estimates, underscoring the sheer media clout this event represents in India’s highly competitive entertainment market.