Bilateral Media Rights: India To Play 39 Games Against Australia And England In Next Broadcast Cycle

The media rights for Team India’s bilateral matches are up for grabs at the moment. Recently, the BCCI released its media rights tender for the Indian team’s bilateral matches in the country. The interested parties can buy the  tender document until August 25 upon submission of a non-refundable fee of Rs 15 lakh.

The Indian cricket board has reduced the overall base price to Rs 45 crore per match for the upcoming media rights cycle. In the most recent cycle, the base price stood at Rs 61 crore per match for Disney-Star in the recent cycle. Apart from the reduced base price, the interested broadcasters have another big reason to acquire the media rights – almost 50 percent of India’s home games in the next five years are against – Australia and England.

Team India is scheduled to play a total of 88 matches at home in the upcoming broadcast cycle. And 39 of those 88 games will be against England and Australia, two of the most formidable teams in international cricket. England is currently the ODI and T20I world champions while Australia are the Test world champion.

Team India’s upcoming broadcast cycle:

According to a report in Cricbuzz, Team India’s next broadcast cycle is structured with a front and back-loaded approach. The cycle will kickstart with three ODIs and five T20Is against Australia this year. Australia are also scheduled to come to India towards the end of the cycle for a five-match Test series in January-March 2027 and three ODIs and five T20Is in November-December of that year.

England also have a similar schedule in the cycle as they will visit India at the beginning as well as towards the end of the 5-year cycle. Ben Stokes and his teammates will visit India early next year for a five-match Test series and will be in the country again in 2025 for three ODIs and five T20Is. A five-match Test series against England in 2028 ends the broadcast cycle.

“A significant portion of the games against Australia and England is a positive aspect, and their distribution throughout the cycle is well-managed.

“However, the challenge arises with the timing of the eight Australia games, which are positioned just before or immediately after the World Cup. Monetizing these matches might prove challenging, as corporates typically allocate funds for the World Cup or might have already exhausted their budgets. That’s the tricky part,” a broadcaster involved in the bidding process told the news outlet.

Apart from playing against Australia and England, India will also play against Afghanistan, Bangladesh, New Zealand, West Indies, Sri Lanka, and South Africa at home in the upcoming broadcast cycle.

Team India’s home games in broadcast cycle – September 2023 to March 2028: