Facebook to stay away from IPL bidding
One of the most highly anticipated bidders for the next edition of the Indian Premier League is opting out of the race.
Why read this story?
Editor's note: Cricket in India is nothing if not intense. As is the business of it. When the Board of Control for Cricket in India announced that it would issue tenders for media rights of the Indian Premier League late last year, the speculation began almost instantly. Who is going to bid? Will an internet giant finally bag the rights this time around? And, most importantly, how much will they bid for the Twenty20 cricket tournament’s media rights? A name that has repeatedly come up in this wave of speculation is Facebook’s. “The likes of Facebook, Jio, Amazon Prime and many others are competing for the prized ad revenue and subscription base gains that the IPL promises,” reads an article in Moneycontrol from November. Another one in The Economic Times cites experts, saying, “Amazon and Facebook are also expected to go after sports rights as they are looking to grow their video business in India.” There are reasonable grounds for speculation, though. Five years ago—the last time that the IPL’s digital and broadcasting rights were up for grabs—Facebook had emerged as a …
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