Amazon Might Not Bid For IPL Media Rights - Reports
According to people familiar with the situation, Amazon.com Inc. is planning to withdraw from a heated competition for the rights to stream Indian Premier League cricket matches, ceding one of the world’s most popular sporting events to rivals ranging from Walt Disney Co. to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd.
The rights were expected to fetch a record-breaking $7.7 billion. The US behemoth is considering throwing in the towel rather than engaging in a bidding battle, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because they were discussing internal discussions. While Amazon has already invested more than $6 billion in the country, they claim that spending more for the league’s online streaming rights would be a waste of money.
Amazon Pulling Out Clears The Door For Other Players
With Amazon’s unexpected exit, the field is now open to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, Disney, and Sony Group Corp., all of which are counting on the game to help them dominate an increasingly online Indian consumer market. Whoever wins the contract would strengthen their position as a major media actor in a country of 1.4 billion people where English sport has cult-like appeal.
According to Bloomberg News, Amazon was initially intended to win the IPL media rights, which is one of a half-dozen global sports franchises it is interested in. The retail behemoth has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on European soccer rights, as well as a $1 billion-per-season deal to broadcast Thursday Night Football in the United States until 2033.
The IPL is a multi-week cricket event that takes place every year in April and May. Ten teams compete in three-hour matches, which are a shorter and more entertaining format than the traditional five-day test cricket style. According to its organiser, the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the annual IPL competition is the third most popular sport in the world, behind only English soccer and the National Football League.
Duff & Phelps, now known as Kroll, evaluated IPL at $5.9 billion in 2020. According to Santosh N, managing partner of D and P India Advisory Services, that number might possibly be 25% higher. It is estimated to be worth $7 billion by the BCCI.
Also Read: Jeff Bezos, Mukesh Ambani Set To Battle Over $7.7 Billion IPL Broadcast Rights
