It's Finally time for the BCCI Media Rights for the domestic home matches for the next cycle which will be for the next 5 years till 2028. And this time the bidding will be fierce as always and it will be an E Auction for the rights just like it was in the case of the IPL Media Rights a year ago. These rights are important because the broadcaster who will win these rights will have access to Indian Matches throughout the year and the people will be subscribed to their OTT platform.
Let’s look at the highlights of the media rights and talk about the players in this race
The highlights of the BCCI Media Rights 2023
1) The BCCI Media Rights deal will be for 5 years just like in the case of the IPL Media Rights and it will be till 2028.
2) There will be a separate bundle for both the TV and the Digital rights as the demand for Digital has grown exponentially over the past few years.
3) The best thing about this whole process is that it will be an E Auction which the broadcasters like instead of the closed bidding process which normally takes place.
4) The base price per match has been set at 45 Crores per match which is less than an IPL match which was over 60 Crores even before it started.
5) Out of those 45 Crores, 20 Crores will be for TV and for the first time Digits will be more costly as the price will be 25 Crores per match.
6) The 5 Years Rights Tender includes 88 Matches in total which has been divided into 25 Test Matches, 27 ODIs and 36 T20Is.
7) Out of the 88, almost 50% will be played against Australia and England which will encourage the bidders to bid more for each other considering both Australia and England are the Top 2 Teams in international cricket.
8) The Matches distribution is interesting as it features more T20IS than ODIs and most of those ODIs are against the top teams. The Test Matches are a reasonable amount and almost 90% of the test Matches are against the stronger teams to attract more money from bidders.
9) The BCCI is expecting in the range of 60 crores per match combining both TV and Digital but it could be more depending on the day the auction takes place.
10) The Indian Women’s Cricket team matches will be included as free in these media rights and this is a bad decision by the BCCI as the women deserved their own rights deal.
The Bidders for BCCI Media Rights 2023
Star India
Star India are the current holders of the BCCI Media Rights and they have been for the past decade or so. Star India paid in excess of 6000 crores and then were just 20 crores ahead of the next best Bidders which were Sony India. Star India has a slew of channels like Star Sports, Star Sports Telugu etc and for the last 5 years they have been dominating the marketplace but the entry of Jio Cinema has changed everything and this time they will get tough competition from Jio Cinema and Zee- Sony.
Sony India and Zee
Sony India must be reeling from 5 years ago when they missed by just 20 crores but this time they will not be alone as the BCCI delayed the rights auction for the merger to get complete and that is exactly what has happened as Sony India and Zee have merged and they will together bid for the rights and they would want these rights as they missed the IPL TV as well as Digital rights. They will be the ones who will be willing to go past the 60 Crores mark that the BCCI has set for themselves. They need a big win for their merger and this would be a huge win to get the BCCI Media Rights.
Jio Cinema
The latest entrant but the most dominating omr in the past few decades and someone who has disrupted the duopoly of Star and Sony and has made them both very nervous. The merger of Zee and Sony happening has a lot to do with Jio and how fast it has changed everything. They bagged the IPL digital rights at a whopping 23,000+ crores and they also have the rights for the various series such as the West Indies vs India and the Ireland vs India. They are the favorites to win the rights race and make Jio Cinema the home of Indian cricket.
