There was a jump of 454% in the fee to retain Indian Premier League (IPL) title rights when Chinese mobile manufacturing brand Vivo extended its deal for the next five years (2018-2022) for whopping sum of Rs 2199 crore.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expecting another such windfall as it is set to open the the Invitation to Tender (ITT) for IPL broadcast and media rights on Friday, July 21.
Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) hold the television rights (2008-2017) while Star India has been in charge of digital broadcast of the cash-rich Twenty20 tournament for the last few seasons.
However, the competition for the next term is going to be intense as quite a few big names including Discovery, Facebook, Jio and Twitter are expected in the race.
All you need to know about new arrangement
Notably, the BCCI had opened the tender process as early as September last year, but it was halted due to the governing body's disagreements with Supreme Court-appointed Lodha Committee.
According to the new tender process, both digital and television rights will be for a five-year period, starting 2018. Earlier the BCCI wanted interested parties to apply for 10-year television rights while keeping digital to five years.
The bids will be classified into three categories -- subcontinent television rights, subcontinent digital rights and Rest of the World media rights -- and five territories.
The last date to buy the ITT is 24 August, while the bidding process closes on August 28, on which the results will as well be announced.
Demand for digital rights skyrockets
While it was expected that SPN and Star India are likely to have a two-way battle for the television rights in the subcontinent region, American broadcaster Discovery Communications, earlier this week, has reportedly said it will join the bidding process to help gain traction to its new sports channel -- DSPORT.
On the other hand, the war for digital rights is expected to be intense as online video-streaming portals will be looking to tap the potential in the digital space in India.
Quite a few were stunned when e-commerce giants Amazon picked up the documents when the tender process was open last September. Social media giants Facebook and Twitter followed along with Mukesh Ambani-controlled Jio Infocomm and Times Internet Ltd, making it a total of 18 contenders.
And most of these big names are expected to purchase the ITT this time as well.
From an outsider's viewpoint, it would be tough to decide on which of these companies will emerge successful. Apart from the bid-value, the BCCI will also be interested in figuring out which of these firms will be able to market their product well in the fast-changing digital landscape.
Jio frontrunner?
While Star, with Hotstar, has done a commendable job over the last two seasons, Jio which has seen a meteoric rise in its customer base after only launching in 2005, is among the frontrunners. Also, Ambani's well-established relationship with IPL might as well work in their favour.
On the other hand, Facebook and Twitter will also rely on their deep pockets and ever-growing subscribers are looking strong to receive the bid as well. Notably, the former, with Facebook live feature, has already ventured into sports broadcast with live streams of former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney's charity testimonial and Premier Futsal League last year.
