'Winning The IPL Rights Was A Way To Protect Our Portfolio'

Star India Chairman and CEO Uday Shankar on bagging the global media rights for the IPL for five years, taking Hotstar global and promising an exhilarating experience for cricket fans

- Salil Panchal & Ruchika Shah

IN THE FIRST WEEK OF SEPTEMBER, Star India won the global media rights—both broadcast and digital— for the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the period between 2018 and 2022. In the auction organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on September 4, it placed a consolidated bid of ₹16,347.5 crore, outstripping those of 14 rivals, including Amazon, Facebook and Sony Pictures Networks.

In an interview to Forbes India, Uday Shankar, 56, chairman and CEO of Star India, explains what factors worked in the company’s favour and the rationale behind the eye-popping figure. Edited excerpts:

Q Your winning bid was only 3 percent higher than the consolidated total bids. What was your strategy to arrive at the figure of ₹16,347.5 crore?

Yes, it was a close bid. There were multiple bids in six out of the seven categories. The margin tells you that our analytics was accurate and that the leaders in each category did a correct analysis. While there was aggression, it wasn’t unbridled; the entire bidding was calibrated and thoughtful. The process was driven by serious business—the potential bidders had identified their critical needs and were going after that. There was maturity in the bidding which reflects how you are going to use the asset in your business. Both for TV and digital, the clarity is much sharper today than it has ever been. There was no clear math to arrive at the number. You do triangulations by taking inputs from a macroeconomic standpoint, media sector, cricket and sports data, and from your own businesses. Then you arrive at a certain number.

Q What was the rationale for bidding in all the categories?