IPL Media Rights Auction: Tender intense as price per match crosses Rs 100 crore for Indian subcontinent

If the early signs are anything to go by, the Indian Premier League media rights auction has certainly hit the hype. The e-auction, the first in IPL history, began on Sunday, which saw an intense bidding war between several competing TV giants.

According to news agency ANI, the price per match in the Indian subcontinent, including TV and digital packages, has surpassed Rs 100 crore. The auction for the first two packages only brought the total price for the IPL media license to Rs 42,000 crore, much higher than the base price set by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) – Rs 32,440.

IPL media rights auction updates

The story isn’t over yet as all the Bundle A and B bidders are still active. Notably, Packages C and D, which includes the rights to 18 exclusive matches and overseas TV and digital rights, have yet to be auctioned. Sunday’s bidding will end at 6pm IST and continue until winners for all four media rights categories are decided.

The total of Rs 100 crore per game is almost double what Star India paid (54.5 Rs crore per game) for the IPL media rights in 2017.

As expected, the digital rights bidding war for the Indian subcontinent is on track to reach unprecedented numbers. With viewership on OTT platforms growing, digital rights are expected to be a hot asset at the IPL auction, and despite Amazon’s pullback, prices are still only going up.

Although the details of the bidders are yet to be revealed due to electronic auction rules, the battle for the television rights has been a 3-way race with the Star India, Sony and Reliance-Viacom Joint Ventures.

BASIC PRICE FOR IPL COMMUNICATION RIGHTS 2023-2027

BCCI has separated communication rights into 4 different packages. The first of the 4 packages will be TV rights for the Indian subcontinent while the second will be digital rights for the same region.

The third, the first in IPL media rights history, will see the sale of bundles for 18 matches, forming a non-exclusive digital bundle. The fourth is television and digital rights abroad.

Package A – Rs 49 crore per game

Package B – Rs 33 crore per game

Package C – Rs 11 crore per game

Package D – Rs 3 per game