IPL games set to cost more than India's international matches

After Star bagged the IPL broadcast right for a staggering, INR 16347.5 crores for the next 5 years, current tabulations have now estimated that IPL matches will cost more compared to the Indian team’s home matches. Star will be paying INR 55 crore for an IPL game, a whopping Rs 12 crore more than what it currently pays for an international fixture in India. The domestic T20 league will thus earn USD 508 million each year as part of the media rights deal, eclipsing Australia’s Big Bash League by USD 20 million per year.

The media rights auction comes as a much-needed aid for the BCCI, considering the administrative crisis the Indian cricket board is currently dwindling in. In 2012, Star secured the broadcast and digital rights of India matches between 2012-2018 for Rs 3851 crore, a figure assimilated to Rs 43 crore per match. But their current deal has reached a new level as every single IPL game amounts to Rs 55 crore and Rs 3270 crore per season.

Cricket is very strong in India

Following the successful completion of the deal, CEO of Star India Uday Shankar said, “Despite the off-field issues of BCCI, watching a cricket match in India remains an amazing experience. This is the right figure. You have seen that in every category it has been so competitive so that there are three digital rights which have gone for over Rs 3,000 crore. Digital did not exist 10 years ago.”

Shankar further added, “In television, you have seen it was aggressively tendered to. This tells you that cricket continues to be very strong, very healthy and very attractive in this country.”

IPL is now set to broadcast on any of Star India’s channels and would also be live streamed on hotstar, Star’s digital platform, for the next five seasons. With the international matches contract deadline on the horizon, another mind-boggling payout is expected for the BCCI next year.