Sony IPL broadcasting rights: Who bought IPL media rights?

Sony IPL broadcasting rights: The Indian Premier League broadcasting rights have been the talk of town since yesterday.

It was yesterday that an intense fight for the broadcasting rights of the Indian Premier League had started via an e-auction with bids being filed through an online portal which is being managed by an independent company.

Notable competitors in the broadcasting world namely Disney-Star, Sony Sports Network, Zee, Viacom, Times Internet, Super Sport and a few others locked horns for the second consecutive day before IPL Media Rights Package A & B were sold for a combined amount of INR 44,075 crore.

For the unversed, Package A & B represent television and streaming rights for the Indian audiences respectively. Readers must note that the aforementioned whopping amount is for 410 IPL matches to be played during the next five-year cycle between 2023-2027.

Hence, a single IPL match would amount to INR 107.50 crore of broadcaster’s money for the next five seasons. It is noteworthy that this INR 107.50 crore is a sum of television (INR 50 crore per match) and streaming (INR 57.50 crore per match) price.

When IPL had commenced in 2008, Sony had bought the media rights for INR 13.6 crore per match for a 10-year period. In 2018, Star had bagged the rights for INR 55 crore per match for a five-year period.

Is Sony IPL broadcasting rights deal confirmed?

While an e-bid is arguably the most transparent form of conducting an event riding on so much money, one of its consequence is the names of the winners not being released in spite of the final bid.

Hence, it remains unknown if Disney-Star have been able to renew their IPL broadcasting deal or not. However, if reports are to be believed, Sony Sports Network and Viacom (in association with Reliance) are said to have made the winning bids for TV and streaming rights respectively. But fans are advised to wait for an official confirmation.

Price of streaming rights for a match surpassing the price of TV rights for a match is a first-off case in the biggest T20 tournament across the world. Clear signs of times to come, IPL 2023-2017 media rights might also be another novel case of two different entities bagging TV and streaming rights (assuming the above reports are true).

If the same happens, Indian audiences will have more options of viewing IPL matches. The same would also mean that there would be different commentary panels in addition to different pre and post-match ceremonies.

When will IPL Media rights winners’ name be announced?

Other than Package A & B, winners of Package C (18 non-exclusive matches per season) & D (Rest of the World) will be announced at the same time at the end of the whole process.

Base price:

Package A – INR 49 crore per match

Package B – INR 33 crore per match

Package C – INR 16 crore per match

Package D – INR 3 crore per match