With questions about a muted deal between Telstra and Fetch TV still not being answered, a glimpse of what is coming in the content acquisition battle was played out last night in India.
News that Amazon’s major shareholder Jeff Bezos who also owns Amazon Prime Video is going after TV cricket right in India has sparked intense speculation of what could happen in Australia, with several overseas players including Amazon Prime and Paramount+ which is owned by Viacom CBS tipped to bid for AFL and NRL streaming rights in the future.
Cricket is huge in India with the Indian cricket league unveiling new guidelines to auction off media rights with the rights to broadcast matches on television and to stream them online sold separately, opening the door for Amazon and Prime Video to bid along with Disney and Sony Pictures.
Last year Amazon forked out $1.3 Billion for the US rights to a Thursday night National Football League game which is not seen as a prime-time game.
The Indian cricket League admit that they have done it this way in an effort to generate higher rights fees while also ramping up the tension between bidders.
And what is a new move for sports rights bidding the rights process will take place live online over a two-day period.
Interested parties will have to make minute-by-minute bids and counterbids in real-time which in itself could prove to be a big TV event in India.
Jeff Bezos and Mukesh Ambani, who are both billionaires are tipped to go head-to-head in the bidding process.
Bezos is worth US$275 billion and Ambani US $100 billion with insiders tipping a “massive bidding war”.
“Can you imagine Bezos and Murdoch going for the rights to AFL and NRL in a similar manner” said one observer.
“Winning the auction is about prestige and vanity, so Reliance, Amazon and others can be expected to flex their muscles,” Aditi Shrivastava, co-founder and chief executive officer at digital entertainment start up, Pocket Aces told Bloomberg.
“It’s a big deal and bidders will surely fight tooth and nail to win the rights.”
The event, which starts on June 12, could see bets of $7 billion or more, according to insiders.
At stake are the rights to show dozens of Indian Premier League matches between 2023 and 2027, with separate auctions to decide the winners for livestreaming and broadcasting in different regions.
The cricket auction is generating intense interest in India, where the sport is wildly popular.
Live streaming matches is an effective way of reaching the country’s 1.4 billion people, who are increasingly watching sports on their mobile devices.
“If successful, you’ve captured an attentive audience for six straight weeks every year for five years,” Shrivastava added. “It’s the biggest viewership event of the year in India.”
Also tipped to bid is Walt Disney who co-own Star India and its Disney Hotstar streaming service.
Also in the mix is a newly created media behemoth that combines Sony Pictures and India’s Zee Entertainment Enterprises, multiple people said.
