BCCI media rights: Viacom18 wins broadcast rights for both TV, digital

Viacom18 have secured both the TV and digital rights for international matches to be played in India for the next five years (2023-28 cycle).

Sports18 will then telecast the matches, international and domestic, on TV while it will be live streamed on JioCinema as OTT (over the top) platform.

The broadcast cycle begins from September 2023 and goes until March 2028 for a grand total of 88 bilateral matches (could go up to 102 matches) involving India. It can be broken down into 25 Tests, 27 ODIs and 36 T20Is.

Disney Star, Sony Pictures Network India and Viacom 18 were the three contenders in the fray during the e-auction on 31 August.

Disney Star had bagged the rights in 2018 for Rs 6,138 crore (Rs 60 crore per match).

In comparison, IPL media rights (digital and TV combined) for 2023-27 cycle had gone for a staggering Rs 48,940 crore (approximately $5.2 billion) last year with Viacom18 sealing the digital rights and Star the TV rights. It set the value of each IPL match at Rs 118 crore.

As per the Invitation to Tender, the base price of TV rights was set at Rs 20 crore per match while that for digital rights was set at Rs 25 crore. In total, it took the base price of each India match, to be broadcast in the sub-continent, to Rs 45 crore.

However, BCCI stated that if the combined value of each game falls below Rs 60 crore, they have the right to annul the e-auction.