| MUMBAI:
Sony Entertainment Television India (now known as Multi Screen Media) will cough
out around Rs 49.20 billion for getting the Indian Premier League (IPL) rights
for nine years. Sony
has taken only the TV telecast rights for the subcontinent including India, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka. "In the last agreement, Sony had the rights to extend the
deal after five years. There is nothing like this in the fresh deal and Sony will
have the rights for nine years. The payout is around Rs 49.20 billion," says
a source close to the development. World
Sport Group (WSG) has kept all the global and other media rights. An official
announcement had been earlier made that the nine-year IPL rights running through
till 2017 was valued at Rs 82 billion ($1.6 billion). "WSG
had signed long-term contracts with international TV broadcasters. Those stand
valid as there was a clause of revising the rates from time to time. WSG will
now spend time upping the rates. Besides, it believes that the other new technology
platforms will emerge during this nine-year course. Even in India, WSG has kept
the other media rights except television," the source says. The
earlier ten-year contract, which Sony couldn't protect, was worth $918 million
for telecast and $108 million for promotion of the tournament. Sony, the source
says, had paid $40 million for the first of the ten-year deal it had with IPL. | 
