Sony catches $1bn Indian Premier League cricket rights

January 18, 2008 – 1:36 am

Sports broadcaster Sony Max and sports rights company World Sport Group have jointly paid US$1.026bn for the rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket championship.

The deal gives the partnership shared rights to the series for 10 years, and brings with it a change of direction for Sony Max parent Sony Entertainment Television (SET), which previously backed the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup.

The change of heart follows the Indian cricket team’s early exit from last year’s ICC World Cup, which resulted in a significant financial loss for SET. Reports put SET’s accumulated debts as high as US$100m.

And as a result of advertiser uncertainly over the prowess of the Indian cricket squad, coupled with the rising cost of ICC rights, SET has now turned to the IPL for its future cricket coverage.

The new arrangement gives World Sport Group the international media rights for internet, mobile and radio, with Sony Max bagging the South Asian TV rights to the competition, which begins on April 18.

Kunal Dasgupta, CEO of SET India, said: “We officially broadcast the ICC events for seven years, from 2000 to 2007. We are not interested in the next ICC events because it is becoming a little expensive. We have decided to go for the shorter version of 20:20 matches.”

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  1. 4 Responses to “Sony catches $1bn Indian Premier League cricket rights”

  2. Dear Sir,

    Only rich people can join IPL, there is no source to Poor People for join this League.

    I am a good allrounder, having good speed in Left Arm Bowling and Right Arm Batsman.

    Pls advice me how i can join IPL.
    Regards

    Raj Kumar
    Sector-37, Noida
    UP

    Tel: 09899737879

    By RAJ on Mar 8, 2008 at 6:07 am

  3. I Wanna Ask this k which channel will telecast Indian Premier League in Pakistan

    By imran on Apr 5, 2008 at 12:38 pm

  4. if u will not give me 1bn these all r bhakwas.

    By tejpal agrawal on Apr 14, 2008 at 6:10 am

  5. thanks for organising this comp
    i love it
    just need a bit of a guide book showing teams players and rules(size of oval and free hit etc)
    tell channel 10 australia to show games at prime time
    channel 9 usually televises the cricket
    channel 10 has no idea

    By richard on May 6, 2008 at 6:46 pm

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