Star India retains BCCI media rights worth Rs 6138.1 crore, outbids Sony, RIL

Star India conquered the broadcast rights worth Rs 6138.1 crore of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for India’s home games on both television and digital platforms for a period of five years (2018-2023).

The board announced the news on Thursday. However, Star India had to bid 59.39 per cent more than their winning bid in 2012. The five-year period will begin from April 15, 2018 and will continue up till March 31, 2023.

Star India’s bid takes India’s per match value to Rs 60.1 crore for 102 international matches across the three formats of the game, while previously the per match value was Rs 43 crore.

The board, however, has not officially announced the news of Star India conquering its media rights. In the e-auction that continued for over three days, there were three participants, Sony Pictures Network India, Reliance Industries Ltd, and Star India.

Star India had won the bid in the global consolidated rights category, which includes the worldwide TV and digital rights. BCCI had auctioned the rights for three different categories, the Indian television rights and rest of the world digital rights (GTVRD), digital rights for the Indian subcontinent alone (ID), and the global consolidated rights (GCR).

Also Read: BCCI media rights bid touches whopping Rs 6,032 crore as Star, Sony and Jio continue bidding slugfest on Day 2

On Wednesday, the bids had reached a Rs 6,000-crore mark, with an intense level of bidding between Star India and Sony. The highest bid touched Rs 6032.5 crore at the end of the day.

With the winning bid, the Star India captures the rights for cricket in India, the Indian Premier League (IPL), and the ICC tournaments. In addition to this, the company also gets the rights for the games played in New Zealand.

However, Sony Pictures Networks India have rights for games played in England, South Africa, and Australia.

The e-auction began on Tuesday, with all the three companies competing harshly.