Reports: Reliance likely to bid for IPL broadcasting rights

The UAE leg of the 2021 Indian Premier League (IPL) season is set to commence on September 19. The concerned officials are busy finalising things for the remaining 31 matches to go unscathed unlike what happened earlier this year. Meanwhile, the sports industry is buzzing with the latest news of Reliance planning to enter the sports broadcasting by bidding for the IPL.

With the current agreement between BCCI and Star India ending in 2022, the Indian board is planning to come up with a tender for the broadcast rights for the new cycle before the end of 2021.

However, if the reports in E4M are to be believed, Reliance Industries is aiming to venture into sports broadcasting by bidding for the media rights of the IPL. The report further adds that the company has already started planning for the same and the IPL media rights will be the first on its target when they are up.

Interestingly, it has also been understood that apart from Star India and Sony Pictures Network, even Amazon India is keen on bagging the media rights for the cash-rich league. And with Reliance Industries planning to foray in broadcasting of sports, it will be an exciting battle between the giants to bag IPL media rights.

Reliance already owns an IPL team

Reliance already owns an IPL team in Mumbai Indians led by Rohit Sharma who has taken the side to newer heights every time. The franchise has won the T20 extravaganza five times since 2013 and is the most successful team in the 13-year rich history of the league. The E4M report also claims that Reliance will place a bid for both TV and digital rights of the IPL.

Star India had won the close battle with their competitors in the last cycle bidding a whopping Rs 16,347.5 crore to bag the rights of the IPL. At the start, as many as 24 companies decided to contest with several rights up for grabs, however, only a few ended up bidding. Reliance had placed a bid of Rs 3075 crore for the digital rights during the auction in the last cycle but they couldn’t match Star in this aspect.