Star India and India’s cricket board have concluded a record 944 million-dollar deal to take over media rights of the Indian national cricket team for 2018-2023.
In comparison, Star had previously paid $592 million for the broadcast rights to India’s home matches for the 2012-2018 period.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced bidders Sony and Reliance Jio were beaten by Rupert Murdoch’s Star.
According to BCCI treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary, the deal was equivalent to $935,000 per match.
Last year, $2.55 billion was spent by Star for the media rights to the BCCI’s lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament starting from 2018.
Internet rights to cricket were also being auctioned for the first time, and six companies (including Facebook and Google) competed to make offers for Indian international and domestic matches, with Star ultimately winning out.
