BCCI decides to sell digital and TV rights separately
The Indian cricket board – BCCI is expecting a minimum of ₹60 crore per match from its bilateral media rights auction, having reserved the right to cancel the process, if bidding fell short of the mark. This price is what Disney Star last paid the board in the 2018-23 cycle.
On Wednesday, the BCCI released the e-auction tender to sell rights for all formats of international cricket India will play at home in the next 5 years(MINT_PRINT)
On Wednesday, the BCCI released the e-auction tender to sell rights for all formats of international cricket India will play at home in the next 5 years (Sept 2023-Mar 2028). Conscious of receding interest levels in bilateral cricket, the collective base price (TV + digital) has been pegged to as low as ₹45 crore per match. This is close to the valuation of what these rights stood for in the 2012-18 cycle, giving a measure of lowered expectations for bilateral cricket – once the financial lifeline of the sport.
Interestingly, the BCCI has chosen to sell digital and TV rights separately, doing away with consolidated bidding, which was the only category – winners Disney Star, Sony and Reliance, the three competing bidders went after, during the last rights cycle. The reserve price for digital is higher at ₹25 crore per match, while it’s ₹20 crore per match for TV. Both, in recent IPL and ICC media rights auctions, digital valuation went marginally over TV.
“One simple reason why the auction document is structured this way may be to ensure Viacom 18 does not run away with a comfortable winning consolidated bid,” a leading industry voice opined.
There have been enough signals of late from Disney headquarters that suggest they are unlikely to focus on TV rights any longer. After they lost IPL’s digital rights, Disney Star managed to retain ICC’s digital rights but sub-licensed the TV rights to Zee. Sony’s focus for its sports channels in India has a linear TV tilt, but they too may not want to burn cash by entering a bidding war in the consolidated category against Viacom 18’s might. Sony and Zee’s merger is pending, and the two broadcasters did not approach the 2022 ICC rights as a collective.
The digital category opens the possibility for new entrants. On paper, digital being the medium of the future seems more attractive, too. But, IPL 2023 showed how difficult premium cost recovery becomes, once advertising is split between two broadcasters.
The BCCI is offering 88 matches – 25 Tests, 27 ODIs, and 36 T20Is in the current cycle, 14 matches fewer to last time. This, after the BCCI cut some flab in Indian cricket’s Future Tours Program. Five-Test series against England and Australia have now become a regular feature. Based on BCCI’s minimum expectations of ₹60 crore per match, they would make ₹5280 crore if bidding stopped there.
