The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has appointed an accounting company KPMG (Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler) to advise them on the Indian Premier League‘s (IPL) media rights. This has been determined by the board’s secretary Jay Shah’s workplace, as per reports. According to an official, for the next cycle of media rights from 2023 to 2027, the BCCI has anticipated a whopping amount of Rs 30,000 crore.
KPMG will be advising them on the tender course of action. The current IPL media rights with Star India comprises TV and digital, which are valued at Rs 16,347.50 crore. The current contract will expire in a year.
The financial services firm will counsel the BCCI on how to proceed with the sale of media rights which then will allow transparency in the process and accordingly identify appropriate market resources, and determine whether e-auctioning of rights is the way forward. The IPL media rights tender is expected to be released soon, but in the meantime, the BCCI is debating whether to use an e-auction or a closed bid.
The BCCI stated in a press release issued following the IPL governing council assembly on September 28, “The IPL Media Rights tender for the cycle 2023-2027 can be launched instantly after the appointment of two new IPL groups which is scheduled to be introduced on twenty-fifth October 2021.”
A top BCCI official said, “The BCCI wants to ensure that transparency remains the keyword when the process gets underway. That’s the most important thing. With a global consultant coming on board, it will also help us identify the right value.”
According to professionals from the industry, “The Sony-Zee merger has ensured now that there is a possibility of new players in the room. BCCI’s blacklisting of Zee – which happened with the onset of the now-defunct Indian Cricket League (ICL) – is over. Disney has shut all its Southeast Asia business in live sports production and broadcast and is only concentrating on India. Amazon has been looking to enter the cricket broadcast space from the OTT perspective.”
The most noteworthy standpoint from the industry is Viacom’s entry into live sports broadcasting. Viacom18 has already secured the Indian subcontinent’s rights to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Serie A, Ligue 1 and La Liga.
The BCCI has hired KPMG to identify these players and maximise their value. The Indian cricket governing council has also asked, McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Redbird, and Ernst & Young (EY) to make presentations for the media rights sale.