Windfall for BCCI expected on IPl media rights auction day

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expecting a windfall from the Indian Premier league (IPl) media rights auction, which gets underway here on Monday with top companies from across the globe participating.

The IPl media rights auction, segregated into two categories -- broadcast and digital (internet and mobile) rights -- is expected to yield to the BCCl an estimated earning of over 20,000 crore through the traditional bidding process.

BCCI Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Rahul Johri has said that the revenue generation from the upcoming IPl media rights auction could be "historic", considering the huge interest shown by various stakeholders.

A total of 24 bidders bought the bid document, including Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, Yahoo, Reliance Jio, Star India, Sony Pictures, Discovery, Sky, British Telecom, and ESPN Digital Media, according to a ESPNcricinfo report.

In 2008, when the IPl started, roughly six companies purchased the bid document for the first rights cycle.

All were television entities and, eventually, only two qualified for the bid -- the Sony-World Sports Group alliance and Nimbus.

On Monday, as many as seven rights will be open for bidding. For the Indian market, bids are divided into television and digital; then there will be separate bids for the US, Europe, Middle East, Africa regions, and the rest of the world. 

The rights will be awarded to the highest bidder in each category.

Previously, the BCCI, which owns the IPl, had sold the rights only for three categories: India television rights, India digital rights and rest of the world. 

The 18 eligible companies which bought bid documents last year before the process was stalled were: Star India, Amazon Seller Services, Followon Interactive Media, Taj TV India, Sony Pictures Networks, Times Internet, Supersport International, Reliance Jio Digital, Gulf DTH FZ llC, GroupM Media, beIN, Econet Media, SKY UK, ESPN Digital Media, BTG legal Services, BT PlC, Twitter, Facebook Inc.