A couple of weeks since the IPL 2022, which saw debutants Hardik Pandya-led Gujarat Titans lift their first trophy, another spectacle is unfolding off the field.
On Sunday, the auction for the 5-year media rights for the IPL will be held with several high-profile players in the fray.
Chief among them were Jeff Bezos and Mukesh Ambani, two of the worlds richest men, in what was touted to be a much-anticipated duel.
That will not be happening now, as Amazon on Friday pulled out of the race.
Reliance Industries Limited owned Viacom18 is considered to be one of the strongest contenders now with Jeff Bezos out.
‘Yes, Amazon is out of the race. They didn’t join the technical bidding process today. As far as Google (YouTube) is concerned, they had picked up the bid document but didn’t submit it. As of now, 10 companies (TV and streaming) are in fray,’ a senior BCCI official told news agency PTI on conditions of anonymity.
E-auction for the first time to ensure transparency
An e-auction will be conducted fov the 74 games per season for a five-year period from 2023-2027 with a provision of increasing the number of matches to 94 in the final two years.
Rights Packages:
There are four packages for the IPL media rights this time around:
A includes TV rights only for Indian subcontinent, B is for the digital rights only for Indian subcontinent.
Package C is for 18 selected games in each season for digital space.
Package D (all games) will be for combined TV and digital rights for overseas markets.
Some of the other contenders are Times Internet, FunAsia, Dream11, FanCode for the digital space rights.
Sky Sports (UK) and Supersport (South Africa) are in the fray for overseas TV and digital rights.
The last time, Star India bought rights for both TV and digital with a composite bid of Rs 16,347.50 crore but this time the composite base price is more than Rs 32,000 crore.
All bidders will have to make separate bids for each package, this time.
As of Friday, some of the big players who are involved with the bidding process, feel that Rs 45,000 crore (USD 5.8 billion approx) is the amount that BCCI could expect which will be a two-and-a-half times increase in valuation.