Facebook, Google, Hotstar Among Contenders In The Stiff Competition For BCCI Media Rights

As the Indian cricket fever rages on with India’s recent South Africa win, the competition for Media Rights Package of BCCI has stiffened with the entry of social media giants Facebook and global search engine Google pitching against Hotstar for the coveted rights.

In a notification last month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) opened bids for Indian cricket’s e-auction bilateral rights. Under the Invitation To Tender (ITT), the winning bidder will be granted either of the three Media Rights Package for the BCCI International and Domestic Matches during the period commencing from April 1, 2018 till March 31, 2023.

These three packages are Global Television Rights plus ROW Digital Rights Package; Indian Subcontinent Digital Rights Package and Global Consolidated Rights Package.

According to the reports, for the first year, the base price for the digital rights per match has been pegged at $1.23 Mn (INR 8 Cr) and for the next four years at $1.07 Mn (INR 7 Cr) per match. For the television rights, the base price for the first year is $5.38 Mn (INR 35 Cr) per match and $5.07 Mn (INR 33 Cr) per match for the next four years.

Recently, the BCCI extended the e-auction date from March 27 to April 3 to reach out to make the necessary clarifications to those who had picked up the tender document.

Among those who have picked up this tender are Facebook, Google, Hotstar, Yupp TV, Jio TV and Sony Pictures Network.

The interest of Facebook in India started in September 2017, when the company raised $610 Mn bid for the rights to stream five years of games from the Indian Premier League (IPL). But, at that time, Facebook lost to Star India’s Hotstar which made the winning bid of $2.5 Bn.

After the previous experience, Facebook is expected to be better prepared for the e-auction as Facebook has been pushing for original video content on its platform. However, how far the company can extend its luck in India will majorly depend on the way Facebook deals with the data privacy leak that has engulfed the company with Cambridge Analytica.

Google is upholding its game with Youtube in the growing competitive video streaming space, while Jio is planning to launch an interactive cricket channel on its Jio TV application and Hotstar continues to be the centre of Star India’s television market success.

However, despite major players planning their entry, Sony Pictures Network and Star India continue to be the strong contenders with decades of experience backing them up in their association with the Indian cricket.

As the deadline for e-auction comes closer and Indian cricket team continues to shine on across the globe, the BCCI media rights package is bound to be a huge moneymaker for whoever amongst the giants like Facebook, Google, Hotstar etc wins the bidding.

[The development was reported by TOI]