ipl points – Loic Meillard – Can women’s IPL rights make it a big pay day for BCCI?
Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana are the new poster girls of Indian sport. They are on the latest cover of Elle and Vogue. In another month, once the Women’s IPL player salaries are finalised, their on-field prizemoney will soar. You may want to know by how much. You might be equally keen to find out who’s going to own the teams in the Women’s T20 league, as it’s likely to be called. Also, when and where the matches would be played. There’s a good chance you wouldn’t be too keen to know who’s going to broadcast these matches.
But any study of the economics of sport would tell you that it’s the broadcasters who bankroll major tournaments. As a matter of course, BCCI is going to the market first, seeking media rights holders (2023-27). Once broadcast partners are found via closed bidding following scrutiny in Mumbai on Monday, the franchise ownership tender will follow, and then the player auction.
“Interest to both the tenders – media rights as well as franchise ownership – has been phenomenal,” Arun Dhumal, IPL Chairman, said.
“Most of the broadcasters and almost every existing franchise, and a few others, have picked up the tender document. We are confident of a very good response.”
Main broadcasters in fray
The familiar names will all be there. For Disney Star, who hold the IPL TV rights, and Viacom 18, IPL’s digital rights holders, it makes perfect sense to expand the scope of their coverage, with the existing franchises likely to own teams. It would also help them in cross-promotions.
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