The Zhitong Finance App learned that, according to people familiar with the matter, the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) is in contact with more companies to stimulate people's interest in the tournament. The scheduled start date of the “Bilateral Series” (Bilateral Series) media copyright auction for the next 5 years has been postponed for at least two weeks. The “Bilateral Series” is a match between Indian cricket teams and other countries.
Google's parent company Alphabet (GOOGL.US) will participate in the media copyright auction for this tournament. Currently, some companies are playing in the Indian Super League (IPL)'s interest is waning. Previously, these companies had fiercely competed for great success IPL tournament copyright.
Earlier, on the eve of the Indian Cricket Super League broadcast rights tender, news broke that Amazon (AMZN.US), originally the most promising record maker, had withdrawn from the bid.
The media company's lukewarm response before the auction underscored how difficult it is to make money in the face of weak advertising revenue, and the Indian Cricket Super League, which has a shorter schedule, is a top cricket event with high ratings over the years. They said that the sale process was two weeks behind the schedule proposed by their consultant EY, according to the schedule, the auction will be completed by the end of August.
According to people familiar with the matter, EY expects to raise at least $750 million for the copyright sale of 102 games, almost at the same price as five years ago. By contrast, last year's IPL copyright auction increased almost three times over previous auctions.
IPL Still one of the most popular sporting events in the world, it still draws the most attention in cricket matches. Last year, Viacom and Disney (DIS.US), controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani (Mukesh Ambani), bid higher than rivals such as Sony. Through auctions selling IPL media rights, BCCI raised a record amount of money.
However, Ambani's Jiocinema put the 2023 IPL for free online, while Disney struggled to make a profit due to weak ad revenue.
People familiar with the matter said Viacom will actively bid for this one“Bilateral Series”As for digital media copyright, Disney, which is making a round of cost cuts around the world, may take a cautious stance.
Representatives for BCCI, Disney, and Ernst & Young declined to comment. Spokespersons for Viacom, Amazon, and Alphabet have yet to respond.
According to people familiar with the matter, since 2019, Disney's Star India has purchased the copyright for the bilateral series at a price of 61 billion rupees (741 million US dollars) in the five years starting in 2018, and has lost about 10 billion rupees from this asset. They said that the decision to split media copyright into digital and linear and conduct an electronic auction has yet to be made.