American Giants Google, Amazon Join Race For IPL Media Rights - Reports

Google has reportedly joined the race alongside Amazon in a bid to win the broadcast rights for the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) lucrative T20 tournament, the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Alphabet Inc. is among several giants that are competing to win the rights to the most-watched franchise cricket tournament in the world. As per reports, they have purchased the documents related to bidding from the BCCI.

The interest from the American tech giant came after numbers confirmed that the IPL is the third most-watched sports event in the world after the Premier League and the National Football League (NFL).

The apex Indian board values the league at around 7 billion USD and it will auction the live streaming and broadcast rights for the 5-year cycle (2023-27), starting from June 12.

Notably, purchasing the documents doesn’t mean the companies are obliged to bid and they can opt out of the bidding action at any point or skip the auction as a whole.

Several other companies interested in IPL media rights

Apart from Google, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd., Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., Amazon.com Inc., fantasy-sports platform Dream11, and The Walt Disney Co. have also expressed keen interest in the rights.

Even SuperSport, the South Africa-based group of TV channels, bought the documents from the BCCI. They were involved in a controversial incident during India’s tour of South Africa earlier this year.

The IPL is currently running its 15th edition after the addition of two new teams in the league. The number of matches has also jumped from 56 to 74 and the final of the IPL 2022 season will be played on May 29.

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