COVID-19 has had a telling effect on the sporting world, cancelling or suspending some of the marquee events of the year, Indian Premier League (IPL) being one of them. While there are question marks over the T20 World Cup due to be held in Australia later this year, it is the lifeline IPL was looking for, opening a possible window for the biggest cricket league. But as things stand, the world seems to be getting better, however, India has been dealt with a scar with positive cases crossing the 5 lakh mark, and rising by the day.
IPL’s 13th edition was supposed to kick start on March 29 at Wankhede Stadium but has been put on hold until further notice. With the COVID-19 cases rising in the country, there is an increasing likelihood of the 2020 edition of the IPL being cancelled despite Sri Lanka, and later Dubai have offered Bord of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to host the tournament. BCCI though, isn’t looking to move away from India just yet. IPL is huge, testimony to which lies in the brand value of league being as high as INR 47500 Cr. It is hence, critical for both BCCI and India, cancellation of which might lend a lethal blow.
If IPL 2020 does end up getting cancelled, BCCI stand to lose around 4000 crores including INR 3269.5 crore from the broadcast rights, INR 400 crore from the title sponsorship and INR 200 crore from other central sponsors.
Star India, who bought IPL’s media rights for INR 16,347.5 crore for a period of five years have already had a setback, having sold over 75% of its IPL inventory well before the start of the tournament, and were looking to clock in excess of INR 3,300 crore as advertisement revenue. If the priority makes the first choice, then it would be the Star India who will sit on a larger space of loss.
| Sponsor | Period | Amount Paid (per annum) |
| India DLF | 2008–2012 | 40 crore |
| Pepsi | 2013–2015 | 79.2 crore |
| Vivo | 2016–2022* | 439.8 crore |
*Vivo bagged the new rights for IPL 2018 in the revised amount of 439.8 Cr. From 2015-2017, they paid 100 Cr per annum.
The brands poured millions into the most popular cricket league of the world. BCCI witnessed the humongous growth in the Indian Premier League with every year. After the first 10-year revenue cycle, they reduced it to five years of 2018-22. Starting with the modest 236 Cr in 2008 with Sony, BCCI crossed the incredible amount of 4087 Cr in 2019 with Star India in broadcasting rights. The sponsorships sum (includes title sponsor, official partners, umpire sponsor and strategic time out sponsor) has increased from 2008-2017’s 111 Cr to 618 Cr for the 2018-2022’s cycle.
In the first cycle, the disbursement of amount from the Net Central Distribution to the franchises was 27.5 Cr per team which has grown to 79.6 Cr in 2017. The average share in media rights has also grown up to Rs. 271 Cr in the 5-years of tranche.
| Broadcasting rights | · 2008-2017 – 236 Cr
· 2018-2022 – 4087 Cr |
| Sponsorships sum | · 2008-2017 – 111 Cr
· 2018-2022 – 618 Cr |
| Disbursement of amount | · 2008-2017 – 27.5 Cr
· 2018-2022 – 79.6 Cr |
As per KPMG India – FICCI, Indian Media and Entertainment Industry Report, 2017, the digital advertising spend has grown and it was expected to reach 227 billion in 2020.
| Year | Digital Advertising spend (INR billion) |
| 2016 | 77 |
| 2017 | 102 |
| 2018 | 134 |
| 2019 | 174 |
| 2020 | 227 |
PayTM is the Official Umpire Partner for the next three years. They are already BCCI’s title sponsor for India’s home series. CEAT Tyres is the official timeout partner for IPL and the Future Group is an official partner as is Tata Nexon. The revenue from these other sponsors would also affect the business.
