Cricket, Broadcasting Rights— Viacom18 Bags Indian Cricket Television Media and Digital Rights

Disney Star Out, Viacom18 In

New Delhi, 01 September: In a significant development, Viacom18 has bagged the television media rights to cover Indian cricket across the globe for $ US 720 million, approximately ₹ 5963 Crore.

Viacom18 took over the BCCI media rights from Disney Star, which is currently holding the broadcasting rights—both digital and TV rights—for Indian cricket.

According to a new contract, Viacom18 earned broadcasting rights for the period 2023-28.

These rights include all formats of the game the BCCI runs in the India. The cash rich Indian Premier League does not come under the new broadcasting ownership.

Up against two competitors, Disney Star* and Sony, Viacom18 bid the highest in both digital and television categories, in an e-auction conducted by the BCCI on 31 August.

In the digital category, Viacom18 bid INR 3101 crore (USD 375 million approx.), and another INR 2862 crore (USD 346 million approx.) for television rights.

Disney Star and Sony’s bids remain unconfirmed.