Amazon India has reportedly made a bid to obtain the digital rights to broadcast the Indian Premier League cricket tournament, according to Ruchi Pandita of KNOW STARTUP. The move "is being seen as a strategic attempt on the company’s part to find more purchase and footholds in the country" for its "Prime" service. The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Sunday announced that it will be awarding the TV broadcasting rights for the IPL for the next 10 years and the digital media rights for five years. The tenders were opened on Sept. 18. With this bid Amazon will "become one of the global entities to have exhibited an interest in buying the broadcasting rights of the tournament." The company is "undoubtedly aware of the huge interest generated by the series in India" and is looking to turn a profit by purchasing the digital rights for the same. Amazon will be competing with Sony Pictures Network and Star India Pvt. Ltd., among others. Sony currently holds the IPL rights (KNOW STARTUP, 9/26). RAPID TV NEWS' Rebecca Hawkes reported the BCCI expects to earn $1.55B in broadcasting rights income from its cricket properties in the financial year '16-17. The figure represents a 60% increase on the previous financial year’s figure of 10.7B rupees in '15-16, "thanks predominantly" to rights income for the IPL. According to the BCCI, IPL 2016 "registered a cumulative reach of 361 million viewers, with 52% of TV viewing households tuning in." On top of that the Twenty20 league attracted 1.5 million spectators at the cricket grounds (RAPID TV NEWS, 9/26).