ICC media rights: Broadcasters submit technical bids

The Big 4 broadcasters - Disney Star, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), and Viacom18 - have submitted their technical bids to the International Cricket Council (ICC). They have also paid bid collaterals, which is a pre-condition for participating in the bidding. The financial bids will have to be submitted on August 26.

The stand-off between the ICC and broadcasters ended recently with the former offering clarity on key questions raised by the broadcasters with respect to the bidding process.

While the ICC media rights tender for India didn’t have a base price, the international cricket body has reportedly put a base price at $1.44 billion for the 4-year cycle.

The ICC has also clarified that a 2.8 multiplier formula will be applied for the eight-year cycle. Bidders have the liberty to bid for a 4 or an 8-year rights cycle. However, there was confusion among the broadcasters as to how it will decide the winner of the media rights.

The council has also clarified that the bidding will go into the second round if the difference between the highest bid and the second highest bid is less than 10%. The second round of the e-auction will be conducted via an e-auction.

Earlier, the four broadcasters had threatened to walk out of the bidding process due to a lack of transparency. Only Amazon and Dream Sports-backed FanCode had taken part in the mock auctions.

The ICC had earlier postponed the mock auctions from August 12-16 to August 16 and 17. Despite the postponement, the big broadcasters had boycotted the mock auctions to put pressure on the ICC.

Following the boycott of the mock auctions, ICC relented and acceded to the demands of the broadcasters by offering more clarity on the bidding process.

The ICC released its first Invitation To Tender (ITT) for media rights for the next cycle of ICC events, starting in 2024 on June 20. The ITT for the Indian market includes up to six packages available across TV only, digital-only, or a combination of both.

The council is selling men’s and women’s rights separately, and prospective partners can bid for 16 Men’s events (over 8 years) and six Women’s events (over 4 years), totalling 362 and 103 matches respectively. Interested parties will be required to submit a bid for the first four years of men’s events. However, they also have the option of bidding for an eight-year partnership.