SLC to open global rights 

Sri Lanka Cricket is accepting bids for the media rights in the global market and several Indian companies have shown keen interest. The bids are expected to be opened by the SLC on Wednesday (March 1) in Colombo, unless a late entrant joins the race and seeks extension. The rights are for the following four years- April 2023 to March 2027. 

The current global rights holders, Sony Sports could be facing stern competition from Star Sports and digital player FanCode but Viacom 18’s late interest could make this bidding war interesting. The new entrant in the market is believed to have got in touch with the SLC officials to find out whether they can participate in the bidding at this stage. 

The tender timing, usually, is not deemed right given that the television market has declined off late and it is evident with the lack of too many commercials in the ongoing India-Australia series, seen as a marquee competition in global cricket. It may be due to the advertisers reserving resources for the forthcoming Women T20 League and the Indian T20 League, but the general consensus is that the market is currently in a slump for the broadcast industry as a whole.

SLC’s global rights current value is tipped to be around $ 23-25 million and the value of the new tender will depend on the number of bidders. It may cross the $ 25 million mark but notably enough, the property will be valued based on the number of games Sri Lanka hosts during the period. 

There is a six match (3 ODIs and 3 T20Is) white ball series in July, 2024, and later in 2026, India are to tour for a two Test series. Given the number of IND-SL encounters in recent times, there may be last minute additions to the schedule. However, at this stage there are only eight ties marked in the new four-year FTP in which Sri Lanka are scheduled to host 56 games. 

Sri Lanka board will start the process of selling the rights for its domestic market once the global market is covered as per an SLC official.