Bezos and Ambani set to battle over $7.7 billion cricket rights
Jeff Bezos and Mukesh Ambani, two of the world's richest men, are set for another clash. This time the fight is over media rights to the Super Bowl of cricket, one of the world's fastest-growing sporting events that draws 600 million viewers and has a brand value of almost $6 billion. The billionaires' companies are expected to be the top two contenders at a June 12 Indian Premier League auction, which is likely to lure several bidders for separate, five-year telecasting and online streaming contracts in different geographies. The tycoons are preparing aggressive game plans to ensure a win, according to people familiar with the matter. Other fierce competitors include Walt Disney Co., which held the rights until this year's just-concluded season, and Sony Group Corp. For the two first-time participants, there's far more at stake than just a shot at becoming the No. 1 media player in a country of 1.4 billion people. The English sport enjoys cult-like status in the former British colony. Both Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd. and Bezos's Amazon.com Inc. are betting the game will serve as a gateway to their ultimate goal: Dominating an Indian consumer market that's increasingly going online. "The bidding action will be a bet on the India story over the coming decade," said Karan Taurani, a media analyst at Mumbai-based Elara Capital. "Bidders are putting money on the promise that data-consuming Indians will dictate the fortunes of every business, from retail to banking, and from travel to education."
