More cash on Board! Star India pip Sony for TV, digital rights

Indian players celebrate a South African wicket during the first ODI at Durban recently. Pic/AFP

Cricket's one-stop destination in India for the next five years will rest with Star India after bagging the Global Consolidated Rights of matches that will be played at home from 2018 to 2023. Star once again pipped Sony Pictures Network (Rs 6,118.59 crore) after making the winning bid of Rs 6,138.1 crore for television and digital rights in the first-ever e-auction that concluded on the third day yesterday.

With this deal, Star has virtually monopolised Indian cricket viewership as it was yet another addition to their crown with the Indian Premier League rights and the already existing International Cricket Council (ICC) rights. The bidding ended at 3.06pm after a three-way battle between Star, Sony and Reliance. For Star, to retain the India matches rights, they will now have to shell out an average R60.18 crore per match (102 matches in five years) as compared to Rs 43.2 crore (for 96 matches) they paid to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the previous six-year cycle.

Star India boss Uday Shankar was elated after bagging the rights, but he looked more relieved that the auction finally ended. "We were focusing more on the Consolidated Rights. We have always believed in looking at rights as combo offerings. "The experience of the auction was great, but it was like a movie that it just went on and on. It was good from the BCCI's point of view because it got them more revenue," said Shankar.

After lapping up the IPL rights at mind-boggling R16,347 crore, there were apprehensions that Star may not break the bank for India rights. But Star was once again determined to emerge as the highest bidder. "IPL is great... it is an exciting property, but when the Indian team is playing in the blue jersey, representing billions of people, it is unparalleled. We believe cricket will only get bigger in the coming years," said Shankar.

He also dismissed fears of a hike in subscription fees after paying an exorbitant amount to bag the IPL and India matches rights. BCCI's chief executive Rahul Johri provided a break-up of per match that the Indian board will receive every year. "It will be Rs 46 crore for first year, 47 for second, 46.5 for third, 77.4 for fourth and 78.9 crore for the fifth year," Johri explained.

Meanwhile, Shankar said Star have reached a mutual agreement with the Prasar Bharti, a government-run free channel, over telecasting the IPL games. "Legally, there is no such provision or mandatory for us to share the live feed with Prasar Bharti as IPL is not of national importance. "However, as our duty to society and to the fans who don't have access to paid subscription, we have decided to telecast one IPL match every Sunday with a 60-minute delay. It has been mutually agreed now," said Shankar.

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