Reports: Sony-Zee merger to bid for IPL 2023-27 broadcasting rights

The Indian Premier League is deemed as one of the most celebrated sports competitions not only in India but across the world too. The media giants are always up in the line to take the broadcasting rights of the mega event. As per the latest reports, Sony and Zee entertainment will bid to bag broadcasting rights of IPL 2023-27 as part of the merger between the two groups.

It has to be noted that currently, Walt Disney holds the broadcasting rights of IPL which will be a tough competitor for the upcoming bidders. Walt Disney owns the Indian media giant Star which was the sole owner of IPL broadcasting rights earlier. Other groups that might step up for the bidding are Facebook (also tried to bid during 2017), Amazon, and Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance.

“Definitely sports is one area which shall be looked upon keenly. It will not only widen our target audience but also enrich our content offerings on digital platforms,” said Vikas Somani, head of mergers and acquisitions at Zee as quoted by the Financial Times.

BCCI is likely to release a tender for IPL rights by end of October

BCCI will release the tender for grabbing the media rights by the end of this month. As the viewership for the IPL has always been skyrocketing, media giants will turn up with hefty bids to grab the rights in any manner. The merger between Sony and Zee was announced last week.

The merger between the two with 75 news channels across various genres and 10 languages will turn out to be India’s biggest market holder with a share of 27 percent. Their share of 27 percent in the market will overtake Disney’s Star India of 24 percent at the current point in time.

“With the cash infusion as proposed in the transaction terms, it gives us the firepower to go and bid competitively for these premium sports properties,” he added.

“It’s an important deal at a very critical time when the India market is migrating from TV to digital. Sports are a huge, huge part of that,” a person in the know of developments added.