Star India bags Indian cricket media rights for 6138.1 crore

Broadcasting giants Star India bagged the media rights for the Indian cricket team's bilateral home series as well as domestic cricket on Thursday for a record Global Consolidated Rights (GCR) bid of Rs 6138.1 crore (US $944 million approx) for a period of next five years, till 2023.

With the India home cricket rights in the bag, Star now has virtual monopoly in the cricket broadcasting world, having earlier bagged the IPL rights for a record Rs 16,347 crore (US $2.55 billion) bid. 

They also have the rights for all ICC tournaments (the men's and women's 50-over World Cup, World T20).

The Global Consolidated Rights comprise television broadcast as well as digital rights for the Indian sub-continent and the rest of the world.

Star once again outbid Sony and Reliance Jio as the Board of Control for Cricket in India laughed all the way to the bank, having clinched another billion-dollar deal.

The bidding went on for three days; the first day ended at Rs 4442 crore while on Wednesday it breached the Rs 6000 crore mark.