Indian Firms Write To CSA Over High Base Price For SA20 Media Rights

The base pricing of SA20, a T20 league that the South Africa board is launching early next year with six Indian Premier League (IPL) teams, is the main point that Indian broadcast firms have raised in letters to Cricket South Africa (CSA) over the recent media rights tender (ITT). 

The basic pricing for the SA20 appears to be the only thing that unites the contending firms, despite the fact that the letters were sent out individually during the past couple of days.

Value Set By CSA Too High According To Indian Broadcasters

The reserve value for each game in the league has been set by the CSA at USD 240,000 (about INR 2 crore), with annual increases of 5 per cent and bids needed for 10 seasons. The broadcasters in India believe that is a high asking price. 

“5.2 The reserve price for the League is USD 240,000 (two hundred and forty thousand United States Dollars) per League Match. 5.3 The Licence Fee payable for the League shall increase at the rate of 5% per Season of the League on a compound basis,” the ITT states.

The total base value for a season adds up to USD 8 million (INR 64 crore).  

Another issue with the combined bidding is that the CSA has been asked to separate the international rights from the SA20 rights.

In the ITT, the CSA is also looking for bids for South Africa’s home international matches for the Future Tours Program between 2024 and 2031, with a base price of USD 7 million for each game against India and USD 3 million for every season against non-India. 

Among the broadcasters up for grabs are Star Sports, Viacom, Sony, and FanCode. While it is unknown if Zee and Amazon have also written to the CSA board, Cricbuzz can reveal that at least three media outlets have.

All senior CSA officials have been contacted by Cricbuzz for a reaction. The official response to the query was, “CSA is not going to provide a response on a confidential process that’s ongoing.”  

Number To Teams To Remain Same For First 5 Years

The six IPL franchises that are part of SA20 are Lucknow Super Giants (Durban Super Giants), Chennai Super Kings (Joburg Super Kings), Mumbai Indians (MI Cape Town), Rajasthan Royals (Paarl Royals), Delhi Capitals (Pretoria Capitals) and SunRisers Hyderabad (Sunrisers Eastern Cape).  

“The number of Teams will not increase in the first 5 (five) Seasons of the League, but may in subsequent Seasons.

Subject to that, the number of Matches and the format of the League is not guaranteed and may increase, decrease and/or change in any Season and will be subject to change by ACD from time to time in its sole discretion,” the ITT states. The tender specifies that there will initially be 33 games in the first year and 34 in the following four years. 

Only the Indian subcontinent is covered by the ITT. The deadline for requesting explanations was October 3, and the deadline for submitting bids is October 12. The former CEO of the England board, Tom Harrison, is serving as a business consultant to SA20 as IMG oversees the media rights deal. 

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