Fast ball

7 September 2017 By Una Galani Follow @ugalani

Rupert Murdoch-backed Star India is paying $2.6 bln for IPL rights, outbidding new rivals like Facebook. The huge sum highlights the sport’s rapid rise and a rush to secure local content. Cheap mobile data could help lure the viewers and advertisers needed for this to pay off.

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Star India will pay 163 billion rupees ($2.6 billion) for the television and digital rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the next five years, the country’s cricket board said on Sept. 4.

Sony, the only other bidder for the TV rights of the world’s richest domestic Twenty20 competition, offered 111 billion rupees. But it lost out to Star’s consolidated offer, which covers both TV and digital worldwide from 2018 to 2022.

Bidders for the digital rights, included Supersport, Facebook, Airtel, Bamtech and Reliance Jio.

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