Viacom18 won the media rights for the first five editions of Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL), the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) secretary, Jay Shah confirmed on Monday, 16 January. The media organisation have purchased the five-year rights for Rs 951 crores, meaning each game is valued at Rs 7.09 crores.
In a tweet, Shah wrote “Congratulations @viacom18 for winning the Women’s @IPL media rights. Thank you for your faith in @BCCI and @BCCIWomen. Viacom has committed INR 951 crores which means per match value of INR 7.09 crores for next 5 years (2023-27). This is massive for Women’s Cricket.”
“I am really thrilled that we have had such an encouraging response for a league that will revolutionise 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.” the board secretary further mentioned in a statement released by BCCI.
Meanwhile, board president Roger Binny stated "I would like to congratulate Viacom18 for bagging the media rights for Women’s IPL for the period of 5 years. Women’s cricket has been on the up since a few years and the recently concluded bilateral series against Australia is a great testament to how popular women’s cricket has become in India. It was only apt to get our own women’s T20 league and give the fans more of women’s cricket."
In October 2022, BCCI announced pay equity among male and female cricketers in terms of international match fees. It was stated that both sets of players will receive equal remuneration for a match, that is – Rs 15 lakh for a Test, Rs 6 lakh for an ODI and Rs 3 lakh for a T20I.
According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, the inaugural edition of the Women’s IPL will be played following the completion of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, between 3-26 March. It is expected to be a five-team event, whilst eight IPL franchises have expressed their interest in fielding a team.
Earlier this year, Viacom18 shelled out Rs 23,758 crore to claim digital rights (packages B & C) for the Indian subcontinent for IPL media rights 2023-27. Viacome18 further won the Australia, South Africa and United Kingdom rights for the same period.
They also have broadcast rights of the ongoing SA20 franchise league and Indian broadcast rights of international cricket in South Africa from 2024-31.
The Soaring Brand Value of IPL
After an incredibly successful inaugural season, broadcaster Sony paid Rs 8,200 crores for the next nine iterations of the men’s IPL, before the rights went to Star India, who had paid Rs 16,347.50 crores for a five-year period.
The media rights were auctioned once again last year, which broke many records by fetching a whopping Rs 48,390 crores for five years, which made IPL the second most valuable sporting league across the globe.
While Viacom18 paid Rs 23,785 crores for digital rights, Star India retained television rights of the cricket extravaganza for Rs 23,575 crores. Cricket enthusiasts would be hoping for Women’s IPL to follow a similar popularity curve, with the initial signs being promising.
(With IANS inputs).
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