14 DAY TRIAL // YouTube has confirmed previous rumors that it inked a distribution deal with the Indian Premier League to stream its live cricket matches from the upcoming season starting March 12. It is the first live sports deal YouTube has landed, making a significant breakthrough. The deal covers every country in the world except for the US where internet rights had been sold to a local company. In countries where the matches are already being broadcasted on TV, the live streams on YouTube will be delayed a couple of minutes.
The IPL tournament was created in 2008 and is an interesting take on traditional sports championships. The eight teams in the tournament, owned by rich businessmen and Bollywood stars, bid for players at the start of each season choosing from a pool of some of the world's best cricket players. It has gained quite a following in India but also internationally. YouTube will carry all 60 matches from the 45-day season.
There aren't any details on the value of the deal and it's hard to estimate based on the previous contracts. The Guardian says that the IPL initially sold internet rights to a Dubai-based company for $50 million, for a 10-year period. Later, those rights were sold to Global Cricket Ventures for $1.75 million. It's this last company which worked with the IPL to make the YouTube deal happen. TV rights for the tournament have been sold for $1 billion over 10 years.
YouTube gets a two-year exclusive online contract, except in the US, and the two companies will share revenue from sponsorship and advertising. "We are thrilled to have the IPL as our global partner and bring to the YouTube community around the world and here in India an interactive, unique experience building greater awareness around the world for the sport," Shailesh Rao, Google's managing director in India and for media and platforms in the Asia Pacific region, said.