Sony India secures $170 million Asian cricket media rights; Reliance-Disney skips bidding

Sony logo is displayed in this illustration taken, September 1, 2022. Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Sony's India unit said on Friday it had secured the media rights for all Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournaments until 2031, which a source with direct knowledge of the matter put the value at $170 million.

Disney and Reliance, seen as frontrunners, did not bid for the rights, another source said on condition of anonymity.

The deal comes at a crucial time for the country's media industry, which is going through a consolidation phase after the $8.5 billion merger of Reliance and Walt Disney's India media assets.

Earlier this year, India's antitrust body raised some concerns about the merged entity's grip over the broadcast of the world's most populous country's favourite sport, Reuters had reported.

The entity currently holds the rights to the matches of the Indian Premier League and International Cricket Council.

The media rights of the ACC were with Disney-owned Star India until 2023, before they were temporarily extended, according to media reports.

The newest deal ensures the coverage of Asian cricket's marquee tournaments across television, digital and audio platforms, Sony India said in a statement.

The deal will be a significant boost for Sony to bolster its foothold in India after it pulled out of a $10 billion merger with Zee Entertainment earlier this year.

Disney, Reliance and Sony India did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi and Aleef Jahan in Bengaluru, writing by Indranil Sarkar; Editing by Shreya Biswas)