IPL media rights auction: Companies pad up for big cricket battle today

Telecast ownership is worth nearly Rs 60,000 crore: compared to the Rs 16,347.50 crore Disney-Star paid in 2017 for the 2018-22 period.

The television and digital broadcast rights for cricket’s Indian Premier League (IPL), one of the world's most-valuable sporting properties, will be sold on Sunday. Broadcasters Disney-Star, Sony, Zee and Viacom18 will participate in an e-auction to earn the telecast rights for the T20 tournament, valued at $4.7 billion, for 2023-27.

At least ten companies picked up bid documents last month, but seven remain in the race after US technology giants Amazon, Google and Apple opted out. For the e-auction, companies file bids through an online portal.

"The companies that submitted technical bids included Disney-Star, Sony, Zee, Viacom18, Times Internet, Supersport from