sentences:  In the 2016 season, Sony's broadcasts achieved just over 1 billion impressions (television viewership in thousands), jumping to 1.25 billion the following year.On 4 September 2017, it was announced that the then-current digital rights-holder, Star India, had acquired the global media rights to the IPL under a five-year contract beginning in 2018.Valued at 163.475 billion (US$2.55 billion, £1.97 billion), it is a 158% increase over the previous deal, and the most expensive broadcast rights deal in the history of cricket.