IPL Media Rights To Be E-Auctioned; BCCI Issues Tender For 2023-27 Cycle

The BCCI on Tuesday released the tender for the Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights for the 2023-27 cycle.

It will be the first time since the IPL's inception that an e-auction will be held to determine the next holder of the tournament's media rights. The e-auction will commence on June 12, 2022.

"I'm pleased to announce that BCCI has issued the tender document for IPL media rights for seasons 2023-27. With 2 new teams, more matches, more engagement, more venues, we are looking to take #TataIPL to newer and greater heights," the BCCI secretary Jay Shah tweeted.

"The Tender document is now available for purchase. For the first time in IPL history, the media rights will be e-auctioned. The e-auction will commence on June 12th, 2022 #TATAIPL,

"I've no doubts that with this process there will not only be revenue maximisation but also value maximisation, which will benefit India Cricket immensely," he further said in another tweet.

As per BCCI, the Invitation To Tender (ITT) document will be available at a non-refundable price of Rs 25 lakh.

"The detailed terms and conditions governing the tender process including eligibility requirements, the process for submissions of bids, proposed media rights packages, and obligations, etc. are contained in the 'Invitation to Tender' ("ITT") which will be made available on receipt of payment of a non-refundable fee of INR 25,00,000 (Rupees Twenty-Five Lakh Only) plus any applicable Goods and Services Tax," the board said in a statement.

"The procedure to procure the ITT document is enlisted in Annexure A to this document. The ITT will be available for purchase till May 10, 2022," it added.

Star are the current rights holders of the lucrative league, having paid the BCCI Rs 16,347.5 crore for the five years 2018-22. Disney+ Hotstar, their OTT platform, currently holds the digital rights for the IPL.

With the addition of two new teams, starting this season, there has been an increase in the total number of matches from 60 to 74 per season, and the BCCI expects the numbers to increase as a result.

Apart from Star, Zee-Sony and Reliance Viacom 18 are in the fray for the TV rights. On the other hand, Amazon Prime, Jio, Meta and YouTube and Disney+ Hotstar are contenders for the digital rights.

With so many contenders, the bidding war will help BCCI in getting a windfall from the IPL media rights deal. According to industry experts, the combined value of the rights for the next five-year cycle (2023/2027) could be close to Rs 50,000 crore, a big jump from the current rights holder's bid of Rs 16,347.5 crore for 2018/2022.