Facebook, Twitter show interest in IPL media rights

Major non-television entities such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Reliance Jio were among 18 companies that have bought the Invitation to Tender (ITT) document for the next cycle of IPL television and digital rights.

The interested parties would vie for television rights for the IPL in the Indian subcontinent until 2027, digital rights in the same region until 2022 and media rights for the rest of the world until 2022 as well.

The last date for submitting the bid is October 25, ESPNcricinfo reported.

The television rights are currently held by Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) and expire after the 2017 IPL season.

Star India is in possession of the digital rights and the overseas media rights, except in the UK and the US, all of which also expire after IPL 2017.

BCCI president Anurag Thakur said he was pleased with the response. ‘With the global trends of showcasing content on multiple platforms becoming increasingly important - TV, internet and mobile rights are up for grabs together this time,’ he said.

On why the IPL television rights for the Indian subcontinent were awarded for ten years, BCCI chief executive Rahul Johri had said the board wanted to replicate the current cycle, which gave SPNI the rights from 2008 to 2017.

‘In our country television is very well established,’ he said. ‘If you look at most cricket tenders, eight years-ten years have been the norm. That’s why we went for 10 years. The area where trends are changing very fast is digital, that’s why we have reduced digital to five years.’