On September 19, the UAE leg of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season will begin. The concerned officials are working to ensure that the remaining 31 matches, unlike earlier this year, go off without a hitch. Meanwhile, the sports world is abuzz with reports that Reliance is intending to enter the sports broadcasting business by bidding for the IPL.
With the current BCCI-Star India arrangement set to expire in 2022, the Indian board plans to issue a bidding for the new cycle’s broadcast rights before the end of 2021.
However, according to rumours in E4M, Reliance Industries is planning to enter the sports broadcasting market by bidding for the IPL’s media rights. The corporation has already begun planning for this, according to the article, and the IPL media rights will be the first on its list when they become available.
It’s also been reported that, in addition to Star India and Sony Pictures Network, Amazon India is interested in acquiring the media rights for the cash-rich league. With Reliance Industries seeking to enter the sports broadcasting business, the race for the IPL media rights would be fierce.
Reliance already owns an IPL franchise in the Mumbai Indians, which is led by Rohit Sharma, who has consistently taken the team to new heights. Since 2013, the franchise has won the T20 bonanza five times, making it the most successful side in the league’s 13-year existence. According to the E4M report, Reliance would bid for both the IPL’s TV and internet rights.
In the last cycle, Star India beat out their competitors in a close fight for the IPL rights, paying a hefty Rs 16,347.5 crore. With various rights up for grabs, as many as 24 corporations opted to compete, but only a handful ended up bidding. Reliance had offered Rs 3075 crore for the digital rights in the last cycle’s auction, but they couldn’t equal Star in this regard.