The media company has coughed up Rs 951 crore for the media rights which translates to Rs 7.09 crore per match. Apart from Viacom18, Disney Star and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) were also in the fray.
“Congratulations @viacom18 for winning the Women’s @IPL media rights. Thank you for your faith in @BCCI and @BCCIWomen. Viacom has committed INR 951 crores which means per match value of INR 7.09 crores for next 5 years (2023-27). This is massive for Women’s Cricket,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said in a tweet.
After pay equity, today’s bidding for media rights for Women’s IPL marks another historic mandate. It’s a big and decisive step for empowerment of women’s cricket in India, which will ensure participation of women from all ages. A new dawn indeed!” he added.
The bid submission, which was originally scheduled for January 12, got shifted to January 16.
The WIPL will initially consist of five teams with plans to add one more for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. The league will comprise a minimum of 22 matches in each season, which is expected to increase to 33-34 matches for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
Each team can have a maximum of 18 players in the squad, including six foreign players.Having sold the WIPL media rights, the BCCI is now all set to sell the five franchises that will form part of the league.
Earlier this month, the BCCI had floated tenders inviting bids from reputed entities for owning teams in the WIPL.
Just like the WIPL media rights, the BCCI has not set any base price for the sale of franchises. Many owners of IPL teams are in the fray to bid for WIPL franchises.
The BCCI is looking to hold the first edition of WIPL in March this year.
