E-auction: Rs 60 crore per India match and still counting

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IT was proved yet again yesterday that the internal disputes in the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) - that is the power tussle between the BCCI office-bearers and the SC-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) - hardly have any bearing on the state of Indian cricket as it continues to get financially healthier than ever. The board is set for another windfall in just over six months' time after the Indian Premier League media rights went through the roof last September.

The first-ever e-auction of the television and digital rights for India matches reached Rs 6,032.50 crore in the Global Consolidated Rights (which include worldwide television and digital rights) on Day Two yesterday, stunning its followers. As per this figure, the BCCI is set to earn approximately Rs 60 crore per match for 102 matches. In the previous cycle, it was Rs 43 crore per game for 96 matches.

It also showed that India games remain undisputed as the BCCI will fetch even more than the IPL matches (which is Rs 55 crore approximately at Rs 16,347.50 crore for 300 matches in the five-year cycle).

The fierce bidding process between Star India, Sony Pictures Network and Reliance Jio will resume today at 11am. A BCCI official expects the bidding to touch Rs 65 to 69 crore per match. "The three-way battle has made it quite interesting now. It is an all-out corporate war that we are seeing now. The bidding can be either logic-driven or ego-driven or perhaps both," he said.

As of yesterday, the BCCI has already ensured a 56 per cent hike from the previous cycle. The three firms in the fray are bidding with a secret code to prevent their identity.

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