The BCCI on Tuesday invited bids for the broadcast and digital media rights to all int'l and domestic cricket matches to be played in India through March '23, according to Vidhi Choudhary of LIVE MINT. The rights are "being awarded for a five-year period" starting from April 1. Currently, Star India has the broadcast and digital rights "for all cricket played in India," for which it agreed to pay Rs 3,851 crore in '12. The deal "gave it exclusive media rights to cricket matches organized by BCCI" until '18. The rights "will be awarded through an online auction." Interested parties can bid for three packages -- "global television rights plus rest of the world digital rights, digital rights for the Indian subcontinent and a global consolidated rights bid" (LIVE MINT, 2/21). ESPN.com's Nagraj Gollapudi reported Star India paid $750M for rights to broadcast Indian cricket matches over a six-year period from '12. But in the wake of the record-breaking Rs 16,347.5 crore ($2.55B) deal "bagged" by Star for the Indian Premier League rights, media pundits "have wondered whether Indian cricket can attract similarly top-end bids." Under the IPL deal, which includes broadcast and digital rights, Star pays the BCCI "virtually" Rs 55 crore ($8.47M) per IPL match (ESPN.com, 2/21).
