Viacom 18 has won media rights for the inaugural women’s IPL for a period of five years following the auction in Mumbai. The company will pay INR 951 crore (USD 116.7 million approx.) for the period from 2023 to 2027. The winning bid was for both linear TV and digital and was sold globally, including in India.
BCCI Secretary, Jay Shah, called the winning bid amount “massive” and said it meant a per-match value of INR 7.09 crore (USD 866,000 approx.) over five years. Shah also emphasized that this is a big and decisive step for the empowerment of women’s cricket in India, which will ensure the participation of women of all ages. He also stated that this deal would “revolutionize women’s cricket” globally.
The per-match value of INR 7.09 crore was calculated for 22 matches per season across the first three years, followed by a possible increase to 34 matches from 2026 when the BCCI, based on the performance of the women’s IPL, could look at adding a sixth franchise.
It is important to note that the sale of women’s media rights did not have a base price, unlike the men’s, and that the men’s rights were split across multiple categories and regions in an auction process that spanned three days. The inaugural women’s IPL is expected to have five teams, which will get 80% of the central commercial pool, of which the media rights constitute a major part.
The BCCI has shortlisted a pool of ten cities from across India, and the five teams will be associated with a city each. The five winners of the team ownership bid will be announced on January 25. The first season of the women’s IPL is expected to run from March 5 to 23, before the men’s edition starts.
