The right to stream the Indian Premier League (IPL) online has been bagged by Viacom18— the company which runs the streaming service Voot, according to a report in TechCrunch. The TV rights, on the other hand, have been picked up by Disney, the report added. Why it matters: IPL is one of the most lucrative cricket leagues in the world and probably the most sought-after media property in India. This auction is also significant because it is the first time since Times Internet won the bid in 2013 that the IPL has had two separate entities for TV and digital respectively. How much did Viacom18 and Disney pay: The TV rights, Package A, were picked for Rs. 23,575 crore ($3 billion) by DisneyStar, as per a report in Economic Times. The company is paying nearly Rs 57.5 crore per match, The digital rights, Package B, were sold for a total of Rs. 20,500 crore ($2.63 billion) to Viacom18 which counts Reliance, Uday Shankar, and James Murdoch among its investors. The company will be coughing up nearly Rs. 50 crore per match, ET reported. The rights allow the bidder to broadcast over 350 matches in India over five years starting from 2023 till 2027, ET wrote in its report. How much did companies pay in the last auction: The per match value of an IPL game for the new rights cycle has nearly doubled from Rs. 54.23 crore Star India had paid for the 2018-22 cycle. The rights in the new…
