Viacom18 bags BCCI's TV, digital rights for Rs 5,963 crore for 5 years

Viacom 18 made a cumulative winning bid of approximately Rs 5,963 crore, beating Star India and Sony in a three-way battle.

The BCCI had invited separate e-bids for both linear (TV) and digital for best price discovery.

In a media release, the Indian cricket board said, "The BCCI had issued an Invitation to Tender (“ITT”) for Media Rights to the BCCI International Matches and Domestic Matches for September 2023 – March 2028. As part of the process, an e-auction was conducted on August 31, 2023, wherein all eligible bidders were permitted to participate to determine the successful bidder for the Media Rights.

"Viacom 18 Media Private Limited has acquired the Media Rights from September 2023 to March 2028 for a cumulative figure of INR 5,963 crores, subject to execution of definitive documentation and completion of formalities as required by BCCI, and other obligations specified in the ITT being completed."

The rights will come into effect with India's three-match home series against Australia beginning on September 22 and end on March 31, 2028.

India will be playing 88 international games across three formats including 25 Tests, 27 ODIs and 36 T20Is with per match value of the deal standing around Rs 67.76 crore. This is nearly Rs 7.76 crore more than last cycle's Rs 60 crore per match value.

However, BCCI is getting Rs 175 crore less than Rs 6,138 crore it received during last cycle which had more games, specifically 102. If one looks at the prevailing market sentiments , it is not a bad price to fetch as the per match valuation has increased. One needs to factor in that only marquee Test matches and series versus England and Australia will fetch a decent advertisement revenue. For matches against other nations, it is only the T20 which is the cash cow.

India will play Australia in 21 games and will be pitted against England in 18 matches across three formats during the next five years.