The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) modified its guidelines and will now permit consortiums to submit bids for the media rights for the following cycle. Previously, it was not permitted for two media outlets to team up and submit a bid, but the regulatory board will now let that to occur. As an illustration of this, a unit might be created by Sony Pictures Network and Essel Group (Zee Network).
Meanwhile, this can result in a significant increase in the bid. The deal will only be accelerated with the admission of a third party because Disney Star and Viacom18 are already anticipated to go all out. Whether Sony and Essel will join forces and submit a single proposal, however, is still up in the air. Long ago, the conglomerate declared a desire to create a unit, but nothing has come of it.
Their merger is continually being delayed by legal challenges. According to the most recent information, the unification should be finished on October 1. The two companies must move swiftly, though, if they intend to submit a bid for the media rights. Technical assessment bids must be submitted by August 28 in order to be considered for the auction, which is set for August 31.
The Roger Binny-led organization anticipates that the additional bids will total at least INR 1 crore.
The BCCI would be pleased, for instance, if a certain organization offered INR 50 lakh for bundle A (television rights) and another 50 lakh for package B (digital rights). The incremental bid must, however, be at least INR 1 crore if a single company is only interested in one package.
Notably, beginning in September 2023, the auction winner will be in control of a total of 88 games. While the base price for digital rights is INR 25 crore, the base price for television rights has been fixed at INR 20 crore.