Women’s IPL media rights sold for $116.7 million

NEW DELHI: India’s cricket board said on Monday it sold the media rights for the Women’s Indian Premier League for $116.7 million to Viacom18 for the next five seasons.

The rights for the men´s Indian Premier League sold for $6.2 billion for five seasons last year. Media giant Viacom18 bought the streaming rights. The money-spinning Twenty20 tournament is set to add a women´s event to the men’s edition this year for the first time.

The Women´s IPL takes place in March. Viacom18, a joint venture between tycoon Mukesh Ambani’s Network 18 media conglomerate and US group Paramount Global, won the rights for the 2023-27 cycle of the women´s edition.

Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), hailed the deal. “This is massive for women’s cricket,” he wrote on Twitter.

He added: “It’s a big and decisive step for empowerment of women´s cricket in India, which will ensure participation of women from all ages. A new dawn indeed!" The cash-rich men’s Indian Premier League – which expanded to 10 men’s teams to include Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans and 74 matches last year – is a huge revenue earner for the BCCI.

Viacom18 last June bought the streaming rights for the next five seasons of the men’s Indian Premier League for $3.04 billion. Star, owned by US behemoth Disney, bought the TV rights for $3.01 billion.