India's 'Body Value' Surpasses 7 Trillion Won... What Makes Cricket Broadcast Rights So Valuable?

Bus of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL) held in Mumbai, India. (Photo by Bloomberg)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The broadcasting rights value for cricket, India's "national sport," has soared past 7 trillion won.

On the 12th (local time), Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the local bidding details, reported that the broadcasting rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket have exceeded 450 billion rupees (approximately 7.4 trillion won) in the auction.

This amount was proposed by the bidding participants and surpasses the 328 billion rupees reserve price set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The news agency also stated that this figure is nearly three times the price set in the last auction in 2017. The BCCI has not officially confirmed the accuracy of this information.

Prominent media companies such as Walt Disney, Sony, Viacom, Reliance, Paramount, and Z Entertainment eagerly participated in the bidding. Amazon, which was reviewing the bid, reportedly withdrew at the last moment.

The reason global media companies are competing so aggressively in the bidding is to attract the 1.4 billion population in India as members on their platforms through the broadcasting rights of cricket, which is exceptionally popular locally.

Cricket is almost regarded as a national symbol in India. Introduced during British colonial rule, cricket is more popular in India than in its country of origin, the United Kingdom, and also holds a higher ranking. The countries where the Cricket Premier League operates are only the UK and India, and India is the country with the most Cricket World Cup wins since the 1960s.

The IPL is generally held annually in April and May in a weekly tournament format. According to the host, BCCI, the number of viewers reaches 500 million.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.