Jay Shah took to Twitter to announce that Viacom18 has bagged the BCCI media rights for both TV and digital for the next 5 years.

What Happened: In a tweet on Thursday, Shah conveyed his congratulations to Mukesh Ambani‘s Viacom18 for clinching the media rights for both TV and digital platforms from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the next five years. He also recognised the contributions of Star India and Disney+ Hotstar in taking Indian cricket to global fans.

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Why It Matters: This development comes after BCCI postponed its media rights auction for international games by two weeks, aiming to attract tech giants like Google and Amazon. The IPL rights bid saw fierce competition between these two firms, with the rights eventually going to Ambani’s Viacom18.

This one is said to be more of a three-way fight between Disney, Sony Sports and Viacom18. Now as Viacom 18 clinches the rights, they now own rights for all major BCCI cricketing events including IPL, and WIPL.

Starting in September 2023 and continuing until March 2028, the broadcast cycle will feature a total of 88 bilateral matches involving the Indian team, with the potential to extend to 102 matches. Back in 2018, Disney Star reportedly secured the rights for a substantial sum of ₹6,138 crore, equivalent to ₹60 crore per match. Currently, the valuation has slightly decreased to a reported ₹5,966.4 crore for the five-year period, which averages out to ₹67.8 crore per match.

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