Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Monday announced that Viacom 18 had bagged the Women’s Indian Premier League (WIPL) media rights for a period of five years (2023-27).
Taking to Twitter, Shah confirmed the development, citing that Viacom had committed INR 951 crore for the first five editions of the much-awaited tournament.
“Congratulations @viacom18 for winning the Women’s @IPL media rights. Thank you for your faith in @BCCI and @BCCIWomen. Viacom has committed INR 951 crores which means per match value of INR 7.09 crores for next 5 years (2023-27). This is massive for Women’s Cricket,” Jay Shah tweeted.
After pay equity, today’s bidding for media rights for Women’s IPL marks another historic mandate. It’s a big and decisive step for empowerment of women’s cricket in India, which will ensure participation of women from all ages. A new dawn indeed! #WIPL @ICC @BCCIWomen
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) January 16, 2023
The inaugural Women’s IPL will be held after the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 in South Africa and before this year’s men’s IPL.
Last year, the BCCI submitted a strategy for the WIPL with its members. This proposal was approved at the board’s Annual General Meeting.
The proposal calls for five franchise teams to play a total of 22 games in the league. Each squad will have a maximum of 18 players, including a maximum of six foreign players, and each starting XI will include a maximum of five foreign players (four from Full Member countries and one from an Associate nation).