IPL media rights e-auction process: “Quick turnaround times” was the biggest challenge, says mjunction, MD & CEO Vinaya Varma
The Kolkata headquartered mjunction Services Ltd was responsible for conducting the high-stakes IPL media rights e-auction earlier this year. The IPL media rights were sold at record-breaking sums despite a fall in TV ratings for the 2022 Season.
2018 was the first time the BCCI adopted the e-auction route to award media rights for all non-IPL international and domestic matches featuring the Indian team.
That auction was also conducted by mjunction, but the scope of the 2022 IPL media rights auction “was much larger as the media rights sale has happened for IPL matches, where viewership and TRPs are far higher,” says mjunction MD and CEO Mr Vinaya Varma, via an exclusive email interview.
Sports industry quick to adapt to auctions
Mr Varma joined mjunction in 2001 as part of its founding team and is acutely aware of the intricacies surrounding auctions across diverse industries.
“We have been at [the] forefront of bringing in auctions – for transparency, price discovery, delivering better realizations, and transforming the supply chains. We started with steel and coal, and now these change processes are increasingly being adopted by other industries, from oil and gas to agro commodities to forest produce, to name a few. Sports too has been quick on adoption as sports bodies transform how they connect and transact with their partners.”
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The key to mjunction’s success has been its adoption of technology and knowledge solutions. Mr Varma points out that the IPL being “a high value, high visibility brand, media rights is critical as it commands a global audience.”
Mr Varma also pointed out:
“Unlike the other e-auctions that we conduct for coal, foodgrains, or oil & gas fields, this is an intangible asset and a one-time event. Because of its high brand value, every move is monitored and analyzed.”
Confidentiality & transparency is key
Considering the eyeballs around the IPL, the pressure to ensure a smooth auction was immense. Mr Varma says:
“The challenges were on the resources front, majorly concerning time available. We had speedy turnaround times. We also had to maintain confidentiality at all times. Of course, it helped that our customer BCCI was at the forefront of bringing in transparency based on technology solutions.”
He adds:
“mjunction’s role was critical, and we had to keep in mind the various sensitivities of the diverse stakeholders involved in such a high-profile event. Having said that, our complete focus was on the e-auction process, and we remained largely untouched by the immense fanfare surrounding the event. Like every other e-auction event that we conduct, we took the utmost care to ensure that the process gets conducted seamlessly and transparently and that there are no grievances from anyone.”
mjunction has a presence in Europe and the Middle East, where it has been conducting auctions regularly. No doubt buoyed by the success of the IPL media rights auction, Mr Varma confirms mjunction’s keenness to “engage with other major sports and leagues across the world.”