Post an intense bidding session lasting three days, Star India has bagged the Board of Control for Cricket in Indian (BCCI) media rights for television and digital rights for the Indian cricket team and domestic championships from 2018 to 2023.
BCCI stands to gain a windfall of ₹6,138.1 crore. This roughly translates to ₹60.1 crore per game.
This is BCCI’s maiden e-auction. A total six companies including Facebook, Google and Yupptv were in the fray. However, post technical evaluation, only three key contenders -- Star India, Sony Pictures Network and Reliance-owned Jio -- remained.
The BCCI had set a base price, or per match value of ₹33 crore for ‘Global Television Rights’ plus ‘Rest of the World Digital Rights Package’; ₹7 crore for the Indian Subcontinent Digital Rights Package, and ₹40 crore for the Global Consolidated Rights Package.
The BCCI has listed a total of 102 matches that will form part of the ICC’s Future Tours Programme from June 2018 to March 2023. During this period India will host 22 Tests, 45 ODIs and 35 T20s against nine opponents.
The deadline for the e-auction was extended by a week — the original date was March 27 — as the bidders had a number of queries regarding the process.
Until now, the bids were through a closed-door process. However, the court-appointed Committee of Administrators, which runs the BCCI, felt that online bidding would be far more transparent.