ICC media rights: Disney Star will be home of cricket in India for next 4 years

The ICC said that Disney Star won following a single round sealed bid process and will be the home of all ICC cricket in India for the next four years having won the TV and digital rights to both men’s and women’s global events through to the end of 2027.

“We are delighted to continue to partner with Disney Star as the home of ICC cricket for the next four years which has delivered an outstanding result for our Members and will support our ambitious growth plans. They will play a crucial role in the future of our sport and connecting and engaging with more fans than ever before,” ICC Chair Greg Barclay said.

Reacting on the announcement, Disney Star’s Country Manager & President K Madhavan said, “We are delighted at being able to continue our association with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and look forward to strengthening our partnership by growing the sport of cricket in the years ahead.”

“With the acquisition of the ICC Digital and TV broadcast rights, Disney Star has further strengthened its status as the premier destination for marquee cricket events in the country,” he added.

Earlier on Friday, four four Indian broadcasters – Star, Sony, Viacom and Zee – submitted their tender after presentations at the ICC headquarters in Dubai.

Despite speculations, Amazon gave the event a miss, just like it had given the Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights a miss.

Also, upset with the PwC departure from the bidding process, Viacom18 and Disney Star wrote letter to ICC’s chief commercial officer Anurag Dahiya. Asking for a demand for e-auction, Viacom18 wrote, “We strongly urge IBC/ICC to consider the above and adopt e-auction as the sole process for the current bid.”

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The current media tender is for the India region alone and is for the next eight-year cycle, starting 2024. In the current bidding cycle, ICC expects to garner $1.44 billion for a four-year deal and $4 billion for an eight-year deal. In the last cycle, ICC sold the media rights for over $2 billion.

ICC media rights package:

Packages types:

a) Package 1 is composite including – television rights, digital rights and both combined

b) Package 2 is television.

c) Package 3 is digital.

What are the Packages for:

For 2024-31 cycle, there are about 8 global competing events – two 50-over World Cups, three T20 World Cup and two Champions Trophies.

For women’s package, there are two T20 World Cups, one 50-over World Cup and one Champions Trophy.

Special features for winning bidder:

1) The winner will get show the viewers to see India matches it in English, Hindi and 3 other languages.

2) Two 50-over World Cups, three T20 World Cup and two Champions Trophies media rights for eight years.

3) Two women’s T20 World Cups, one 50-over World Cup and one Champions Trophy for four years.

4) All U19 matches.

5) Clip rights and cinema rights.

6) Video on demand (VOD) Rights to make it more attractive for digital players.

7) and More.

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