CHENNAI: Rs 16,347 crore is an unheard of figure in cricket. But when it comes to Indian cricket, nothing is out of reach. Although in the lead up to the awarding of IPL broadcast rights, mindblowing figures were predicted, Star bagging them all suggests things can become different for viewers from next year. Other than IPL, Star has broadcast rights for all bilateral series in India and ICC events as its deal with Cricket Australia expired in March and England rights conclude with the ongoing series against West Indies.
Market experts believe this will have an adverse effect on consumers. Jawahar Goel, CMD of Dish TV, had in fact written to the Competition Commission of India, highlighting the imbalance it creates among the competitors and is awaiting a response.
“This has created more or less a monopoly. Though the impact won’t be immediate, from 2018 there will be a difference. They have to get back the money some way or the other, and knowing that they hold a huge hand in the market, they can dictate terms,” Goel told Express.
In simpler terms, this means consumers may have to pay more. “If the subscription charges go up, it will have an adverse affect on consumers. Earlier, there was at least an option, with Sony having the IPL TV deal and the digital rights being with Star. But now both are with them. We have written to the Competition Commission of India,” Goel added. However, insiders are quick to point out that with TRAI regulating the charges, the manipulation won’t be easy.
Although 24 companies bought tender documents, only 14 placed bids in Mumbai on Monday. Broadly, there were three categories — TV rights in India, digital rights in India, TV and digital rights overseas. Star got them all by making one consolidated global bid of Rs 16,347.5 crore. They were the only ones to place such a bid, which was higher than the sum of all the highest bids in each category put together — Rs 15,819.51 crore.
Staggering here is the manner in which Star outsmarted Sony. Sony bid Rs 11,050 crore for India TV rights, while Star only bid Rs 6,196.95 crore. The story was different also for digital rights, as Facebook bid Rs 3,900 crore, while Star quoted Rs 1,443 crore. Airtel (Rs 3,280 cr) and Reliance Jio (Rs 3,075.72 cr) also quoted more than Star. It didn’t matter in the end as Star’s consolidated figure turned out to be humongous.