NEW DELHI: The BCCI has decided to “waive off” one match from its media rights agreement (MRA) with Star India, amounting to Rs 78.90 crore.
The MRA for the 2018-2023 cycle which ended on March 31 had an “indicative schedule” of 102 games at a value of Rs 6138.1 crore but the BCCI ended up organising 103 matches in the five-year cycle.
“It has been resolved to waive off (one) match from the scope of Star India Private Limited under the BCCI-Star Media Rights Agreement dated 5th April 2018 for BCCI International and Domestic Matches. The total number of matches during the rights period has now been reduced from 103 to 102,” read a BCCI note.
However, sources close to Star India say as per the MRA signed in 2018, the board was expected to organise 102 matches, so the scenario of waiving off one match fee should not arise.
“The MRA had 102 games and Star will pay for those matches. I don’t see an issue here,” a source told PTI on Monday.
Star had bid different amounts per game for different years in the previous cycle: Rs 46 crore per game for 2018-19, Rs 47 crore per game for 2019-20, Rs 46 crore per game for 2020-21, Rs 77 crore per game for 2021-2022 and Rs 78.90 crore per game for 2022-23.
As per sources, Star had asked for a waiver of Rs 139 crore due to the rescheduling of a few games after the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020.
Considering that the media rights for the 2023-2027 are up for grabs and Star will be expected to bid alongside Viacom 18 and Sony, the BCCI has decided to waive off Rs 78.90 crore from the previous media rights value.
The board will have high expectations for the home season rights after making windfall gains of Rs 48,390 crore from the IPL media rights.