Viacom18 Shows Commitment To Home Internationals

The BCCI global media rights for television and digital streaming rights have fetched Rs 5963 crore for the five-year cycle — September 2023 to March 2028. The new entrant in cricket broadcasting, Viacom18 Media Pvt Ltd, has left others by the wayside and it will deploy its television channel Sports18 and digital platform Jio Cinema to broadcast the bilateral series home internationals. The Reliance Industries backed Viacom18 and made a big splash when it acquired the digital rights of the 2023-2027 IPL cycle and the full media rights of the Women’s Premier League. However, it has demonstrated a commitment to be the sole owner of the BCCI’s domestic bilateral series rights. There is a lot of glamour around the IPL, but the BCCI media rights represent the essence of cricket where the International Cricket Council’s full members play Test matches that are part of the World Test Championship and also the one-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals. These matches are the pith of the home international season and they attract millions of eyeballs Viacom18 has gone out of the way to acquire the rights for a sum that has given immense satisfaction to the BCCI. Viacom18 has made the commitment knowing that the home internationals will have value across all formats, in particular the multi-day Tests and Twenty20, but the BCCI media rights have proved that the game’s future is drifting towards digital viewership.