With BCCI earning a huge amount due to the sale of IPL media rights for the next 5-year cycle, today we will take you to the story when the board sold the television rights for the first time.
When the South Africa tour of India happen in 1991-92 which was also the their first-ever tour since the suspension from the sport in 1970 due to the apartheid policy, it was decide that both teams will play 3 ODIs in Calcutta, Delhi and Gwalior.
Amrit Mathur, who was the manager of the Indian cricket team then, said an insightful story to cricket host Gaurav Kapoor on his Podcast 22 Yarns.
The story is of the first broadcast rights sale by BCCI to a South African national broadcaster.
As soon as the South Africans sign on the tour of India, they call up Amrit Mathur to confirm the price of the broadcast rights.
Back then no one in BCCI was use to sale or purchase of broadcast rights.
Doordarshan use to be the national broadcaster of the cricket matches in India and there existed no sale of rights to them.
The deal was pretty simple with DD.
All the advertising profits use to go to them while BCCI use to earn from the on-site advertising and ticketing, that is sale of tickets and profits from the the advertisement on ground went to BCCI, inform Amrit Mathur on the podcast.
Amrit Mathur Told :
“We did not even know that these matches are our property. When South Africans ask for the price, then we got to know that this property is ours. We did not know what price to qoute so I call up Doordarshan, who told me to ask for $10,000 per match.
“I then ask some seniors in the board, they told me this ($10,000) looks a little less, aske for $25,000 per game. I still remain quiet as I did not if this price was right. But I did not want to look foolish in front of them. When the date was near, Ali Bacher of the South African cricket board ask to send the price quickly. I ask them what could be the right price as per you. He hesitatingly said ‘will $30,000 be enough?’ And eventually the deal was close at $40,000.”
When the final match happen in Delhi, Mr Ali Bacher came and gave a cheque to Mr Madhavrao Scindia of $120,000.
That was the first sale of television rights for a game in India.”
But now BCCI have sold the TV rights of just IPL for Rs 23,575 crore while the digital rights have gone for Rs 23,758 crore.
In total, the broadcasters will collectively pay the BCCI Rs 118.02 crore per match for the next five-year cycle.
