The Indian Premier League (IPL) has made young players millionaires, given team owners priceless attention, and rendered the national cricket board one of the wealthiest governing organizations in the world.
The world’s most valuable cricket event, now in its 15th edition and featuring players such as Virat Kohli, Pat Cummins, and Jos Buttler, was a forerunner in the Twenty20 league format.
BCCI and IPL
Its widespread popularity has produced imitation competitions in other nations, as well as a fortune for India’s Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI). The high-octane, big-hitting carnival is a must-see event, with millions of subscribers and millions of dollars in advertising income. Some companies are willing to spend nearly a billion dollars only to have a chance to play on the IPL’s golden wicket.
The Glazer family, who control Manchester United, was among the international bidders at the auction for the rights to buy the additional franchises when the competition extended to ten teams from the original eight this year. The Indian tycoon Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG conglomerate, which paid the BCCI $930 million to construct the Lucknow Super Giants, eventually defeated them.
The Gujarat Titans, the second new franchise, paid $690 million to CVC Capital, a worldwide venture capital firm. For teams that would only play two months a year, the figures are staggering, but Simon Chadwick, a sports economy professor at the Emlyon Business School in France, told AFP that it was well justified.
The BCCI’s main source of revenue is broadcast rights. Star India, a Disney subsidiary, paid $2.55 billion for a five-year television and internet rights deal that ends this season.
Investment and Contribution
The following package, slated for 2023-2027, is expected to cost up to $6.6 billion, according to analysts. According to reports, the BCCI will earn roughly $130 million in sponsorship this year alone.
The largest contributor is title sponsor Tata, an Indian steel-to-broadcast conglomerate, with others including banking apps, an online education provider, and a fantasy game site. The BCCI made $533 million from the IPL in 2020, according to treasurer Arun Dhumal, but its finances are kept secret.
The company’s most recent annual report is for 2016-17, but reports claim that a later file put its net value at $2 billion. Teams in the IPL receive a portion of the media rights and sponsorship money, as well as 10 to 15% of ticket sales.
They can also profit from costly sponsorship arrangements for shirts or other items. Neelima Burra, a business executive, has worked with Cargill Foods, Usha Sewing Machines, and Hewlett-Packard on several IPL sponsorship deals.
Expense Over Players
The franchises spent about $75 million on players in February, with Mumbai Indians keeping wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan for $2 million and Punjab Kings paying England’s Liam Livingstone $1.52 million.
In England’s six-month-long County Championship, the average player contract is $66,000. The league was created by cricket administrator Lalit Modi, who fled India for London after being fired in 2010 over corruption and financial fraud accusations. The IPL has been marred by controversy.
The Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two seasons after a spot-fixing and betting probe in 2013. Subrata Roy’s Sahara business withdrew its Pune Warriors franchise from the 2013 IPL as it battled allegations that it had defrauded millions of dollars from India’s poorest families.
The Royal Challengers Bangalore squad is owned by United Spirits, the Indian affiliate of British drinks company Diageo, whose chairman Vijay Mallya resigned in 2016 over charges of financial mismanagement and is currently fighting extradition from the United Kingdom.
The main disadvantage of the IPL, according to veteran cricket journalist Pradeep Magazine, is the threat it poses to conventional cricket, particularly five-day Test matches.
IPL Generates More Revenue
As per the sources, we came to know that Sourav Ganguly, the president of the BCCI and a former captain of the Indian cricket team, recently made the audacious claim that the IPL generates more income than the English Premier League (EPL). The English Premier League is English football’s top-tier competition and one of the most-watched sporting competitions in the world.
The popularity of the EPL is not restricted to the United Kingdom; it is followed by enthusiastic fans from all over the world. It is also regarded as one of the toughest football leagues in the world for players, and it entails significant financial outlays in the form of transfers, tickets, and other expenses.
However, speaking at an India Leadership Council event, Ganguly stated that the IPL generates more cash than the EPL and that it brings him great joy to see cricket grow from strength to strength over the years.
The BCCI president’s remarks come at a time when the IPL media rights for the 2023-2027 cycle are up for grabs in an e-auction that is now taking place. Several prominent companies, including Disney Star, Sony, Zee, SuperSport, and Reliance/Viacom18, are vying for the tournament’s TV and internet rights for the next five-year cycle.
As per reports, The BCCI is likely to gain a large sum of money from the media rights e-auction. The bidding war might reach USD 7 billion, with the victor receiving the tournament’s broadcasting rights from 2023 through 2028.
