UAE T20 League media rights sold to Zee Network for $ 120 million
The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has sold the 10-year media rights for the upcoming UAE T20 League for an incredible 120 million US dollars to the Zee Network, which belongs to the Essel Group.
A key aspect of the deal is that the tournament will also be broadcast to Sony Sports as the anticipated merger between India's two major TV networks - Zee and Sony - is set to close soon. As was to be expected, Sony did not take part in the tender.
Cricbuzz believes the deal was signed just a week ago and a chief negotiator on behalf of the broadcaster was Rahul Johri, the former CEO of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He joined Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd last year as President - Business, South Asia.
Johri signed the deal after negotiating with Khalid Al Zarooni, chairman of the league and vice-president of the ECB. He didn't want to comment on the pact, but an Essel Group official explained the investment. "It will be a highly competitive tournament given that most of the players will be internationals," said the official.
The fact that Zee is also investing in the Middle East may have made his interest in the property higher than that of his competitors. After the merger with Sony, the company will also have a presence in Pakistan through Ten Sports. A formal comment from the ECB is expected.
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The six-team league, which includes the IPL franchises Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Capitals as well as the Glazer family from Manchester United, Sydney Sixers from Australia and Capri Global based in Dubai, is scheduled to take place in February and March . The ECB will allow franchisees to have 10 foreigners in the game.
The current price of IPL media rights is the highest in the world of cricket - a whopping $ 500 million for one season - and its price is expected to keep rising when the rights are sold in less than a month for the next cycle.
To put the $ 12 million year deal with other leagues in perspective, The Hundred, which launched last year, is slated to raise £ 35 million for one season for the home board.
In India, shown by the FanCode Late Nights digital platform, its value is not very high. The PSL (Sony) and CPL (Star) are worth less than half a million in India and the BBL came to Sony through a lump sum contract.
In 2018, the CA sold the entire package of its media rights to Channel Seven and Fox Sports for a total of A $ 1.12 billion. Channel Seven pays A $ 450 million of this.