Sony bags IPL media rights for $1 billion

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Sony Max, along with World Sport Group, has bagged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)-backed Indian Premier League (IPL) media and production rights for the next ten years (2008-17) in a deal worth $1.026 billion.

The duo will initially have to shell out $59 million in the first year. This comes despite Sony Entertainment Television (SET), which owns Sony Max, reportedly incurring losses of around Rs 200 crore on televising the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup last year.

Under the arrangement, World Sport Group gets the international media rights for Internet, mobile and radio, while Sony Max bags the South Asia audio-visual rights. IPL is slated to begin on April 18 this year and the inaugural season will witness as many as 59 matches.

Meanwhile, media reports suggest that SET is going through a serious liquidity crisis prompting its auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, to raise questions about the company’s financial status. The dismal performance of the Indian cricket team at the ICC World Cup and its early exit from the tournament resulted in a huge financial setback for SET. Reports also said that SET has accumulated debts worth close to $100 million.

Sony signed non-negotiable clauses with advertisers and charged $6,000 per ten-second ad spot for India matches and $2,200 for games not featuring India. However, with the Indian team’s debacle at the World Cup, many advertisers refused to honour their contractual obligations.

At a media briefing on Monday, Kunal Dasgupta, CEO, SET said, “Since the ICC rights have become very expensive, we are now looking forward to the IPL rights.”