On Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) placed the tender to invite bids to acquire media and digital broadcasting rights for the next four-year cycle of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Indian board released a statement outlining the terms and conditions required for the interested parties to bid for the coveted rights.
The statement read:
"The Governing Council of the IPL invites bids from reputed entities to acquire the Media Rights for the Indian Premier League Seasons 2023-2027, through a tender process,"
"The detailed terms and conditions governing the tender process, including eligibility requirements, process for submissions of bids, proposed media rights packages, and obligations, etc. are contained in the 'Invitation to Tender' ("ITT"), which will be made available on receipt of payment of a non-refundable fee of INR 25,00,000 (Rupees Twenty-Five Lakhs Only) plus any applicable Goods and Services Tax.
The BCCI is expecting a significant windfall, with the revenue expected to be close to Rs 50,000 crores.
Star India acquired both the media and digital rights for a whopping Rs 16,347 crores back in 2018, but this time, the board is set to sell the broadcast and digital rights separately.
There will be no consolidated bids category this time. Instead, the BCCI will invite bids across four categories- TV, digital, rest of the world and a new non-exclusive bundle of 18 matches as suggested by their partner KPMG.
Apart from Disney Star, streaming websites like Viacom 18 (Reliance) and Zee-Sony are likely to bid furiously. The board is also expecting likes of Amazon Prime, Meta, Netflix, etc. to break the bank to acquire digital rights.
The BCCI will conduct an e-auction for the bidders, and the final results are likely to be announced after the completion of the 15th season.