11/01/2024
The broadcasting rights for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) have been sold for a huge amount of 6.3 billion rupees. This is 2 billion rupees more than the previous deal. A private TV channel won the rights in a competition against three other contenders. The bidding started with a minimum price of Rs. 7.358 billion.
In the first round, the previous rights holder bid Rs. 5.30 billion, while a state-owned TV channel and two other competitors bid Rs. 5.17 billion, Rs. 4.40 billion, and Rs. 4 billion, respectively. However, none of them met the minimum price, so there was a second round of bidding. The channel with the highest bid in the first round increased its offer by one billion rupees in the second round, securing the broadcasting rights for the next two years for a total of Rs. 6.30 billion.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) approved this deal, with 95% of the money going to the PSL franchises. This means the franchises will receive over Rs. 3 billion every year. Digital rights were separately bought for Rs. 1.85 billion. It's important to note that the PCB only allowed companies with their own sports channels or rights from another channel to participate in the bidding. If the minimum price wasn't met, the PCB could have reconsidered the bids or postponed the process. Luckily, a consensus was reached after a substantial bid in the second round.
For comparison, the minimum price for the previous contract was Rs. 3.7 billion, and the rights were eventually sold for Rs. 4.3 billion for two years. Interestingly, the same entity has once again secured the broadcasting rights. The PCB had a company called 'Colganbauer' evaluate the media rights of PSL before the bidding, and they determined a value of 6 billion rupees.