Former India cricketer and now TV commentator Sunil Gavaskar has congratulated the BCCI after IPL media rights reportedly left the Board richer than ever. According to media reports, BCCI earned 107.5 crore per match which was unprecedented in Indian sports. Congratulating them further, Gavaskar, who commentated in the inaugural IPL in 2008, added that he never thought the value of the IPL will reach this much. BCCI earned 45,000 Cr for the combined selling of Package A (TV Rights) and Package B (Digital Rights). The numbers for Package C (Non-Exclusive India games) and Package D (Rest of the World) are yet to come in.
“But this number today, which we have got is mind-boggling. I just want to congratulate the BCCI, the TV executives,” said the former India captain.
“I never thought that after the first year that the IPL started that these would be the numbers that they would be reaching after 15 years,” said Gavaskar, who formerly served as BCCI President (IPL Affairs), told India Today. “This is absolutely terrific and congratulations to everybody concerned. You are looking at the quality of the coverage. Because the numbers have always been good, the viewers loved it.”
Gavaskar added that with big money rolling in, the fans will experience better viewing experience.
“They (BCCI and the TV executives) will make sure that the viewer will get a big bang for the buck,” said the former World Cup winner.
The combined media rights for the next five years of the Indian Premier League (TV and digital) has been won by two separate broadcasters after intense bidding. These two media behemoths now hold the rights to broadcast a total of 410 matches for a five-year cycle starting 2023 to 2027. This also means that BCCI will get paid 107.5 crore for each match, quite unprecedented in Indian sports.
According to sources, the prices for Package A (TV rights) and B (Digital rights) have been pegged at a humungous amount of Rs 44,075 crore. The TV rights were sold for Rs 23,575 crore, while the digital rights have gone for a whopping Rs 20,500 crore. This puts the valuation of each IPL match, at a cost of above Rs 100 crore.
Get all the latest updates on Cricket News, Cricket Photos, Cricket Videos and Cricket Scores here