Viacom18 bags exclusive BCCI rights, with IPL and WPL in its kitty

Viacom 18, the subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has bagged the rights for Indian cricket broadcasting for around Rs 5,963 crore.

In an e-auction on Thursday (August 31) conducted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Viacom 18 secured both digital and television rights for BCCI's home games for the next five years, solidifying its dominance in Indian cricket broadcasting with digital rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Women's Indian Premier League (WPL) in its kitty already.

Jio Cinemas is the digital platform of Reliance Group, whereas Sports18 is the television channel belonging to Viacom 18.

Viacom outbids

• Viacom outbid competitors Disney Star and Sony to acquire the rights for Indian cricket (conducted by the BCCI), both domestically and internationally, both men and women for the period 2023-2028.
• The media conglomerate will now be the exclusive broadcaster for all bilateral games involving India within the country, including domestic cricket.
• This deal follows their previous acquisition of digital rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the exclusive broadcast rights for the Women's Premier League (WPL), two of BCCI's flagship products.

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Financial breakdown

• Viacom's total winning bid amounted to approximately Rs 5,963 crore, with the digital rights valued at Rs 3,101 crore and the TV telecast rights at INR 2,862 crore.
• This translates to an average per-match value of Rs 67.75 crore, reflecting an 11% increase from the previous cycle's value of INR 60 crore.
• The base price (per match) of the digital and TV rights were kept at Rs 25 crore and Rs 20 crore respectively.
• The unexpected increase in the final bid for TV rights came as a surprise to some. However, this can be attributed to the absence of IPL rights in these rights, as IPL is considered more oriented towards a younger audience.

Implications for Indian Cricket

• BCCI secretary Jay Shah expressed his pride in the growth of the brand BCCI, acknowledging the stride in their journey.
• This deal reinforces India's position as a cricket powerhouse, with upcoming marquee series against teams like England and Australia commanding significant viewership.
• Shah also thanked Disney Plus and Star India for promoting cricket in India and taking the game to the masses as they held the rights for the last 11 years.

• However, it also highlights the challenges of generating advertising revenue for less prominent and domestic series, that the broadcaster will be going to face as the truth is only players like Mahendra Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma attract a major chunk of eyeballs.

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With the Jio network revolutionising the digital sports broadcasting landscape, Viacom 18 now holds key rights, including IPL, BCCI's home international games, and the Women's Premier League.

While the media rights for Indian cricket are highly valuable, they still fall behind the IPL in terms of per-match valuation. The IPL's shorter duration, favourable time slots and greater marketability contribute to its higher value per match.

This development will also help to democratise and take cricket viewing to newer audiences as cricket viewing on JioCinemas is free, against the earlier paywall put up by Disney Plus.

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