IPL media rights: Mukesh Ambani grabs digital, Disney-Star goes old school with TV

Ending the monopoly in IPL broadcasting, Mukesh Ambani-backed Viacom18 grabbed the digital rights with a bid of Rs 20,500 crore and Disney Star has won TV rights for a whopping Rs 23,575 crore at the media rights auction.

The combined per match value only from Indian TV and digital rights per game is Rs 107.5 crore.

Package A, which is Indian sub-continent TV rights for 410 IPL matches from the year 2023 to 2027 has been sold for Rs 57.5 crore per game.

Package B, which is Indian sub-continent digital rights was sold for Rs 50 crore per game being offered by Viacom18. The per match value of digital rights is grabbing attention as it is an incremental growth of 51 percent over and above the base price.

The base price for TV was Rs 49 crore while digital rights were pegged at Rs 33 crore.

Package C has the right to broadcast 98 out of 410 games for five years in the non-exclusive digital category. Package D is overseas rights for TV and digital.

According to reports, BCCI has earned a staggering Rs 46,000 crore from these two packages, which is two and half times more than the 2018 auction value of Rs 16,347 crore.

Reliance-owned Viacom18 has formed a consortium with Uday Shankar and James Murdoch's Lupa Systems.

Bodhi Tree Systems, which is a platform of James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems and Uday Shankar, along with a consortium of investors in April put Rs 13,500 crore in Mukesh Ambani-backed Viacom18.

Uday Shankar is the former president of The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific and former Chairman of Star and Disney India. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar, is an investor in Bodhi Tree Systems.