The BCCI Media Rights Auction saw Viacom18 leapfrog Disney Star and Sony Sports to clicnh the bilateral rights. Viacom18 will pay Rs 67.8 crore per game for the next five years to telecast the game on Sports 18 and JioCinema. The India vs Australia LIVE Broadcast will mark the beginning of the new cycle next month.
Zee however is still not out of the race as they can jointly bid with Sony with BCCI allowing a consortium bid. Zee & Sony merged earlier this month and will be a strong challenger to Disney & Viacom18. Another strong candidate for digital rights, Fancode, also did not submit their bid.
BCCI Media Rights: All you need to know
- BCCI Media rights were sold via an e-auction on Thursday, August 31.
- Broadcast and Digital packages sold separately, priced at Rs 20 crore and Rs 25 crore per match respectively.
- Viacom 18 purchased both TV and Digital Rights.
- Sports 18 will broadcast all India domestic and international home games.
- The live streaming will be on the JioCinema app.
- Viacom18 have bagged the rights at Rs 67.8 crore per game
- The new cycle comprises 88 games, including 25 Tests, 27 ODIs, and 36 T20Is
- While the highlight of the deal is India Men’s Cricket Team, broadcasters will also bag women’s bilateral rights for free.
Harmanpreet Kaur & Co will play New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and West Indies in bilateral women’s cricket over the next three years at home.
“It’s not merely about the coupling or decoupling of women’s matches with men’s, or broadcasters obtaining women’s internationals for free. It’s about the larger picture, which is the progress of women’s cricket,” a broadcaster told Cricbuzz.
But after massive boost in IPL digital rights, BCCI has increased digital rights base price. BCCI Media Rights for digital base price is Rs 25 Cr per game while TV rights is only Rs 20 Cr.
- Package A: Television rights at Rs 20 crore per game
- Package B: Digital rights at Rs 25 crore per game.
Zee-Sony to enter bidding together?
While Zee Entertainment Enterprise has not submitted a technical bid, they could still be in the auction with Sony. The Zee-Sony merger is set to get the green light by October 1. With BCCI allowing consortiums to bid, it can clear the way for Zee in BCCI Media Rights race.
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) authorized the merger plan between Culver Max Entertainment and Zee Entertainment Enterprises earlier this month. The entire process will be complete by mid-November. The timing of the same is favourable as the BCCI media rights auction is on August 31.
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