Package A–TV rights for the India subcontinent–received 16 bids. Package B–India subcontinent digital rights—got 30 bids, said the people cited above.
At the end of day one, the highest bid for TV rights was Rs 57 crore per match or Rs 23,370 crore in total, while that for digital rights was at Rs 48 crore per match or Rs 19,680 crore for five years. The reserve price for TV and digital rights was Rs 49 crore and Rs 33 crore per match, respectively, with a total of 410 matches planned over the next five seasons (2023-2027).
ET had first reported on June 11 that there would be only four contenders for the India packages–DisneyStar, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), Viacom18 and (ZEE).
“At the beginning, both TV and digital packages were receiving measured bidding, but post lunch the bids for digital rights went aggressive, while TV bids were coming in slow. It was only in the last one-and-a-half hour when TV bids also went up by almost Rs 3 crore per match,” said an executive who was participating in the auctions.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will auction the remaining two packages–non-exclusive India digital rights or package C and those for the rest of the world or package D–after completion of bidding for the first two packages.
The winner of package A will have an option to challenge the winner of package B for the rights. Similarly, the ultimate winner of package B will have the right to bid against the winner of package C and subsequently package D.
“While the BCCI has not allowed any composite bid this time, it has provided an opportunity for the winner of the first package to win all the rights, if they can match the respective winners,” explained one of the bidders.
Sports marketing experts told ET they estimate the cumulative winning bids are likely to be in the Rs 50,000-52,000 crore range.
