NEW DELHI — India’s cricket board on Sunday opened the tender process for allocating broadcast rights of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL) in the hope of securing billions of dollars.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the designated rights would be a 10-year period for television and five years for digital platforms.

The current deal with Sony Pictures Network India expires after the 2017 IPL edition.

BCCI president Anurag Thakur called the bid “historic” as he presented the layout of the tender bid’s terms and conditions.

World Sports Group bagged the IPL television rights in 2008 for a 10-year period for $918m. It signed a deal with Multi Screen Media (MSM) making Sony the official broadcaster. The contract was redone before the 2009 IPL, with MSM working out a $1.63bn deal for nine years.

AFP