The time has arrived for the tainted, ten-year-old, booming Indian Premier League (IPL) to figure out how much it is worth in terms of the moola; not from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) point of view but from the top-notch organisations doing no-holds-barred business in the word of television broadcasting and digital platforms.
The market has been rife with speculation that the television and digital rights bids that will be opened here at a South Mumbai hotel on Monday could turn out to be the biggest thing for the BCCI as regard the revenue it would be assured for the next five years (2018 to 2022).
It may be recalled that almost a quarter century ago, the BCCI was in the red at ₹93 lakh. Analysts today are sticking their neck out and saying that the global media and digital rights could fetch in excess of ₹15,000 crore.
An expert in the broadcasting industry who follows trends in the digital sphere said: “The television model of business is well known; it’s difficult to see a third serious bidder for television broadcasting, the tussle should be between Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) India and Star India. It would be interesting to see how it pans out; the television broadcasting bid will, of course, be more than digital.”
The IPL has become the premier T20 league in the world with Indian and overseas cricketers waiting for the big opportunity at the player auction. Cricket Australia’s Big Bash has turned out out to be a big hit in the last two years.
There are other T20 leagues in the Caribbean and Bangladesh and the Pakistan Super League has been conducted in the UAE. Cricket South Africa is set to start its T20 Global Destination League and the England Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is all set to put in place its T20 league in 2020. Yet, IPL is always on the lips of the cricketers; that’s where they believe all the big action and razzmatazz is.
More then 20 companies have bought the Invitation To Tender (ITT), but the feeling is that only Sony Pictures and Star India are in a position to bid for the television media rights, and that it would be a real surprise should someone else makes a bid.