The right to challenge clause in the Indian Premier League IPL media rights Invitation To Tender (ITT) document allows a single player to buy all of the rights for themselves. When the media sales are up for sale this time, as we have revealed, there will be one final bidding war.
IPL media rights: the inevitable bidding war
Even more so, the potential of a single player being an Indian broadcaster remains very real. TV rights for the Indian subcontinent (Bundle A), digital rights for the Indian subcontinent (Bundle B), non-exclusive digital rights for a specific number of games (Bundle C), and TV and digital rights for the rest of the world (Bundle D) (Bundle D).
The winner of Bundle A, which is Indian Subcontinent Television rights, has the first right to challenge. The rivals are mostly Star, Sony, and Viacom 18. Although Zee Network has been given permission to bid, considering its impending merger with Sony, the equation does not change much.
The winner will be able to compete with the holder of Bundle B (India subcontinent digital rights), and a TV broadcaster may possibly get the OTT rights as well. It can also continue to challenge Bundle C (non-exclusive bundle) owners and, eventually, Bundle D-owners.
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IPL media rights: The claims by BCCI
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) claims that the IPL media rights package benefits smaller players as well, but in practice, the biggest fish can eat up all of the IPL media rights. It’s a different question if an Indian broadcaster would be interested in smaller packages, such as 18 non-exclusive games and diverse locales in global rights.
Meanwhile, it has been learned that the global rights package, which has a total base price of Rs 3 crore, has been divided into five areas, each with a base price of Rs 30 lakh per game. Territory 1 through 5 makes up the Rest of the World, with Australia, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Israel, and South America making up the first territory. All of these regions have been lumped together under the oddly named category of Asia.
Territory 2 includes the Middle East and North America, Territory 3 includes South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, Territory 4 includes the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, and Territory 5 includes the United States of America, Canada, and a few other countries. A party can bid for one region, all regions, or just a few regions, it has been discovered.
IPL media rights: BCCI’s encouragement on territory-wise bidding
The BCCI, on the other hand, appears to be encouraging bids to go territory-by-territory rather than for the entire Bundle 4, with a starting price of only Rs 30 lakh in each region. The total cost of the package is Rs 3 crore, which is double the total cost of each territory.
The BCCI has set a limit of Rs 1000 crore for applicants in Bundle A and Rs 500 crore for applicants in the remaining bundles.
