New Delhi: A base price of $170 million has been set by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) for the media rights of the Asia Cup. For events such as the Men’s Asia Cup, Women’s Asia Cup, Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup, Women’s Under-19 Asia Cup, Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, and Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup, the ACC is offering television, digital and audio rights to cover them all. The auction for the same is scheduled for November 1.
As per a report in Cricbuzz, the Men’s Asia Cup, which is the flagship event of the rights package, will cover four editions of the continental championship in a rights period of eight years i.e. from 2024 to 2031. The next edition of the Asia Cup will be played in the format of T20 in India in 2025 followed by Bangladesh in 2027 (ODI), Pakistan in 2029 (T20), and finally Sri Lanka in 2031 (ODI).
Each of these editions will feature 13 games and as usual, the high revenue generative match for the broadcasters will be that of the arch-rivals i.e. India and Pakistan. There is a guarantee of at least two group stage matches between the two teams and the possibility of a third encounter will remain if they meet in the final. In the most recent edition of the tournament, there were two clashes between the neighbours and India won both, as well as the final.
Auction participants
According to the Invitation To Tender (ITT), there are a total of three Asia Cups for women in the period of the rights. The Asian cricket governing body also announced that the winner will be found through an e-auction – a process that has been accepted as fair and transparent. The Cricbuzz report also stated that prior to the auction, all the interested parties will need to submit their “technical bids” in Dubai on October 30.
The major question that remains unanswered leading up to the auction is how many broadcasters will partake. It would be noteworthy to watch out for Reliance-backed Viacom18/Jio Cinema and Disney Star, if the two major giants submit separate bids or if only one of them will take part. This is a major uncertainty due to the impending merger between the two broadcasting companies for which all the necessary regulatory clearances have been managed.
The auction for bagging the media rights of four major Asia Cups is scheduled for November 1, for which the ACC has set a base price of $170 million to give away global television, digital, and audio rights. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
