WIPL media rights auction to be a closed affair, six teams from 2026: Report

The BCCI might not necessarily award the media rights of Women's IPL (WIPL) to the highest bidder while the competition is likely to expand after three seasons, according to a report by Cricbuzz.

The BCCI had recently opened the sale for Invitation To Tender (ITT) for interested parties for the  media rights for cycle of 2023-27. The report stated that the bidding process in the auction is most certainly going to be a closed affair, with the BCCI considering the bid most likely to be in their benefit.

According to Cricbuzz, the BCCI is considering an expansion of the WIPL from 2026 onwards with six team participating in a 33-34 match tournament. The inaugural edition of the WIPL next year is a 22-match competition with five teams participating.

The ITT is set to be on sale until December 31, with BCCI stating that "merely purchasing this ITT does not entitle any person to bid." While the information on the interesting parties is yet unknown, FanCode and Amazon Prime are likely to be in fray alongside Viacom18, Star Sport and Sony Sports.

The bids are likely to be on a per-match, per-season basis with the broadcasters bidding for 132-133 matches. The packages on offers are - A: Global TV rights, B: Global digital rights and C: Consolidated global TV and digital rights.

Recently, Disney Star, Viacom18 and Times Internet bagged the men's IPL media rights for the cycle of 2023-27 which has generated a revenue of INR 48,390.50 crore.