• Broadcast rights for IPL match now worth more than India home game • Sony was only other bidder for broadcast rights

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Star India will pay £1.97bn for the television and digital rights of the Indian Premier League for the next five years.

Sony, the only other bidder for the TV rights of the world’s richest domestic Twenty20 competition, offered £1.33bn but lost out to Rupert Murdoch’s Star for the worldwide rights from 2018 to 2022. It means for the first time the broadcast rights for a single IPL match are worth more than an India home international.

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The other bidders for digital rights included Supersport, Facebook, Airtel, Bamtech and Jio.

“We believe the IPL is a very powerful property and we believe there is lots more value that can be created for fans of cricket on digital and TV,” the Star India chief executive, Uday Shankar, said. “India, cricket and IPL have changed dramatically since 2008, and this bid is a reflection of that.”

It also reflects the world’s second most populous nation’s obsession with cricket, especially the 20-over format, despite a spot-fixing scandal in 2013 that led to the ban of several players and two-year suspensions of two IPL teams.

The franchise-based competition began in 2008 with eight teams with owners including India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani and Bollywood actors.

Rupert Murdoch’s Star group also owns broadcast rights for 18 ICC global events to be held during an eight-year cycle from 2015 and India’s international matches at home.

India’s huge market is a major draw for sponsors and advertisers, who often plan product launches around major cricket tournaments and book advertising slots in advance.