The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) has set a base price of $170 million for the media rights to the Asia Cup, covering a range of events, including both men’s and women’s tournaments. The auction will take place on November 1. The rights package includes the Men’s Asia Cup, Women’s Asia Cup, and various under-19 and emerging teams competitions, as per a Cricbuzz report.
Livemint was unable to verify this development independently.
The media rights will be auctioned for an eight-year period from 2024 to 2031. The next edition of the Men’s Asia Cup will be held in India in 2025 (T20 format).
Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka will host future editions in alternating ODI and T20 formats. The rights will be sold through an e-auction, with technical bids required by October 30 in Dubai, the report added.
The Men’s Asia Cup remains the most valuable event for broadcasters, with a minimum of two highly anticipated India-Pakistan matches guaranteed in each edition. In the 2023 edition, India won both matches against Pakistan and claimed the title. There could be a third India-Pakistan clash if they meet in the final, as per the report.
The ACC has also confirmed that the Women’s Asia Cup will feature three tournaments during this period. Women’s cricket is gaining popularity, particularly with the introduction of the Women’s Under-19 T20 Asia Cup in December 2024, leading into the Under-19 T20 World Cup in Malaysia in early 2025, the report added.
The auction has sparked interest, particularly in the potential competition between Viacom18 and Disney Star. Both companies are expected to make bids, but uncertainty surrounds whether they will bid separately due to their impending merger, which is awaiting final regulatory clearances.
The e-auction format has been widely praised for its fairness and transparency. Now, broadcasters will compete for the lucrative media rights to cover one of cricket’s premier continental events, as per the report.
