Viacom18 has bagged the BCCI's TV & Digital media rights for bilateral India matches on home turf for the next five years, sources told e4m. The rights, say sources, have been acquired for Rs 5966.4 crore (TV& Digital combined) for 88 matches. The e-auction for awarding the rights was conducted on Thursday.

Congratulating Viacom18, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah tweeted, "Congratulations @viacom18 ? for winning the @BCCI Media Rights for both linear and digital for the next 5 years. India Cricket will continue to grow in both spaces as after @IPL, and @wplt20, we extend the partnership @BCCI Media Rights as well. Together we will continue to capture the imagination of ??cricket fans."

Viacom18 beat Disney Star and Sony Sports, which were the only participants in the auction.

The base price set by the cricketing board per game for TV was Rs 20 crore while for digital it was Rs 25 crore. Experts had expected the final price to be 30-40% above the base price per match.

With this, Viacom18 will be the official broadcaster of India matches on home turf for the period of 2023-28.

The rights were earler with Disney Star. "Also a big thank you to @starindia @DisneyPlusHS for your support over the years. You played a key role in making India Cricket reach its fans across the globe," Shah tweeted.

Meanwhile, NP Singh, MD & CEO, Sony Pictures Networks India, too congratulated BCCI and Viacom18.

"We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the BCCI for a transparent and efficient e-bidding process and to the winners for securing the bilateral media rights. Our disciplined bid was grounded in market forecasts and a long-term growth strategy. We remain committed to delivering top-tier sporting entertainment as we continue to see growing enthusiasm across various sports genres,” said Singh.