BCCI walks away with Rs 48,390 cr in three-day IPL auction for media rights

Disney-Star, Viacom18 and Times Internet are winners, confirms cricket body's secretary Jay Shah

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has raked in Rs 48,390 crore in the auction of the media rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL). While a tad lower than the initial estimate of Rs 50,000 crore that analysts were saying the BCCI would earn from the e-auction, it is still a significant milestone, experts said.

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah tweeted on Tuesday evening that Disney-Star, Viacom18 and Times Internet were the winners of the e-auction held between Sunday and Tuesday.

While Disney-Star bagged the TV rights (package A), Viacom 18 picked up the digital rights for both the Indian sub-continent (package B) and the special package of 18-20 matches per season (package C).

Viacom18 and Times Internet, on the other hand, bagged the overseas rights of the T20 tournament. The former (Viacom18) took home the rights (digital and TV) for the Australia, South Africa and UK markets. Times Internet acquired the mandate for the US and Middle East North Africa (MENA) regions, Shah said.

“Since its inception, the IPL has been synonymous with growth & today is a red-letter day for India Cricket, with Brand IPL touching a new high with e-auction, resulting in INR 48,390 cr value. IPL is now the 2nd most valued sporting league in the world in terms of per match value!” Shah tweeted.

At the end of three days of bidding, the per-match value of all the media rights sitting in packages A to C stands at Rs 140.74 crore. Specifically, the television rights will cost Disney-Star Rs 57.5 crore per match. And the digital rights will cost Viacom18, which has now become the home of all IPL matches online, Rs 83.24 per match. This includes the per-match value of the Indian sub-continent, which stands at Rs 50 crore, and the per-match value for the special package of games, which is Rs 33.24 crore.
 

Though digital is just behind TV in terms of total value, Rs 23,491 crore (combined value of groups B and C) versus Rs 23,575 crore (TV value; group A), it is still at a significant premium to the base price set by the BCCI.

According to Karan Taurani, senior vice-president, research, Elara Capital, the digital rights for the Indian sub-continent attracted a premium of nearly 70 per cent over the base price, while the TV rights attracted a premium of 30 per cent.

“Digital media revenues are estimated to grow at a rate of 30 per cent over the next five years, while TV revenue will grow in a narrow band of 6-8 per cent in the same period. In terms of split, digital accounts for nearly 49 per cent of the media rights in line with TV, while revenue (from digital) accounts for just 22 per cent. The hefty premium paid by Viacom18 is more from a strategic standpoint,” Taurani said.

In line with that strategy, package C saw frenzied bidding on Tuesday between Disney-Star and Viacom18, taking the premium to nearly 108 per cent of the base price set by the BCCI. Viacom18 was the ultimate winner.

“We made disciplined bids with a focus on long-term value,” Rebecca Campbell, chairman, international content and operations, The Walt Disney Company, said.

“We chose not to proceed with the digital rights given the price required to secure that package. IPL is an important component of our portfolio of television channels in India, providing an incredible opportunity for us to showcase our company’s powerful global brands and iconic storytelling,” she said.

Shah said that India has seen a digital revolution and that the sector has endless potential. “The digital landscape has changed the way cricket is watched. It has been a big factor in the growth of the game and the Digital India vision,” he said.