Viacom 18 Won Women’s IPL Media Rights For 5 Year Period
BCCI issued a tender document to encourage all interested parties to bid for the WIPL media rights back in December last year and since then we have heard many big business entities in India and all around the globe have shown interest to earn these lucrative rights for the highly anticipated Women’s IPL which is scheduled to be played in March 2023. As per different media sources, eight companies participated in the bidding process but on the final day, only two parties came to the auction which were Viacom 18 & Disney Star.
NEWS 🚨- The BCCI is pleased to announce Viacom18 Media Private Limited as the successful bidder of Media Rights for the Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) Seasons 2023-2027.
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) January 16, 2023
More details here – https://t.co/WpAz9tpr0R @viacom18 pic.twitter.com/lsAK0FRsHk
Broadcasting Rights Deal Amount
Viacom 18 who is one of the fastest growing OTT and sports platform have purchased WIPL rights for INR 951 crore (USD 116.7 million approx.) for the period – 2023 to 2027 which is considered to be groundbreaking by BCCI officials as well as many cricket legends of the game. It is estimated that the per match value is INR 7.09 crore (USD 866,000 approx.) over five years which is excellent because of the fact that the Women’s IPL is just getting started and to have this kind of money in hand before the inaugural edition provides a sustainable and exciting future to look forward to.
In comparison with the Men’s Indian Premier League which already has hosted 15 seasons have a per-match value of INR 58 crore and a total broadcast deal worth INR 48,390.5 crore (USD 6.2 billion approx. at the time) for a five-year term. Financial investors expect Women’s IPL numbers to match up or come close to Men’s IPL in the coming 8 to 10 years.
It has also been confirmed that Viacom 18 paid this huge broadcast money for Women’s IPL for both linear TV and digital and was sold globally, including India which means like IPL 2023, VOOT will be the official streaming partner for WIPL 2023 which we have discussed in detail here so you never miss out any of the live amazing T20 cricket action.
Jay Shah, Secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India shared his views after the announcement of the official broadcast partner for Women’s IPL.
“After pay equity, today’s bidding for media rights for Women’s IPL marks another historic mandate. It’s a big and decisive step for the empowerment of women’s cricket in India, which will ensure the participation of women of all ages. A new dawn indeed.
I am really thrilled that we have had such an encouraging response for a league that will revolutionize women’s cricket not just in India but across the globe. This is a commitment I had made to the board and our women cricketers and today we have taken one big leap. The broadcasters play a key role in taking the game to a wider audience and their active interest in the league is a clear indication that the Women’s Indian Premier League is headed in the right direction”
BCCI Secretary, Jay Shah
WIPL Starting Date
According to different media sources, the inaugural edition of Women’s IPL will be played from March 5 to 23 this year before the IPL 2023 and the first three editions of the tournament will have 22 games while in the 4th season after looking at the success of WIPL, BCCI will then add the sixth franchise which will increase the matches count to 34 from the 4th edition of Women’s IPL.
