The first e-auction of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s media rights commenced on Tuesday. This was the first time that traditional sports broadcasters got jitters from Google and Facebook.

The global tech giants were in contention for the rights alongside two established broadcasters, Star India and Sony Pictures Network India, and streaming service YuppTV with Reliance Jio also in the fray.

However, the BCCI [Board of Control for Cricket in India] evaluated the "technical and financial feasibility" of the six parties involved in the auction before it started at 8:30 am (GMT) on April 3. Following the evaluation, only three competitors - Star India Pvt. Ltd, Reliance Industries Limited, and Sony Pictures Networks India kicked off the bidding process.

Star Sports India Pvt. Ltd finally bagged the deal to retain the BCCI media rights, for both television and digital platforms with a whopping bid of Rs 6138.1 Crores (USD 944 million), the Indian cricket board announced on April 5 (Thursday). Star also has a strong grip internationally, having paid USD 1.9 billion for the broadcast rights for ICC tournaments from 2015 to 2023.

The successful e-bid - 59.39 percent more than their winning bid of 2012-18 cycle - allows Star Sports India Pvt. Ltd the rights to broadcast India’s 102 international matches from June 2018 to March 2023 which includes 22 Tests, 45 ODIs and 35 T20s against nine opponents, barring Pakistan and Ireland.

Star India, which runs Star Sports and Hotstar, already has media rights for IPL, ICC, ACC, cricket in New Zealand and Bangladesh, and regional T20 tournaments like Tamil Nadu Premier League and Karnataka Premier League.