IPL still not in the league of major sporting events such as the EPL, NBA

Star India acquired the worldwide broadcasting rights for TV and digital media of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a whopping ₹16,347.50 crores that too with a single bid. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hosted the auction for the rights in Mumbai today and awarded it to Star. The rights have been sold for a time period of five years spanning from 2018 to 2022.

After a timely introspection, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri brought it to everyone’s notice that the eligible candidates for broadcasting rights appeared to be Star India and Sony Pictures while for the digital acquisition, Times Internet, Reliance Jio, Airtel and Facebook were in the fray. However, after the lunch interval, Star India won a consolidating bid for both.

After this, IPL’s per match worth is more than that of an Indian international fixture at home. Renowned Statsman Mohandas Menon provided an interesting fact related to the bid. He wrote- “The TV fee for every India’s international match is around Rs. 43 crore, while for an IPL match it is now approximately Rs. 55 crore!”

The TV fee for every India's international match is around Rs. 43 crore, while for an IPL match it is now approximately Rs. 55 crore!?

— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) September 4, 2017

A long way compared to other global sporting events

While the amount of 16,347.50 crores might seem a huge one, it’s still far less when compared to other major sporting leagues. Here a Twitter user puts forward an important stat where he compares IPL with the EPL, NFL and NBA.

IPL vs other major leagues
EPL -$13 B for 3 yrs (4.3B/yr)
NFL -$27 B/ 9 yrs (3B/yr)
NBA – $24 B/9 yrs (2.6 bn/yr)
IPL -$2.5 B/5 yrs (0.5B/y)

— Ravi Teja (@Raviteja53) September 4, 2017

Another Twitter user made comparisons between the EPL and IPL rights and highlighted a major difference.

Interesting comparisons

EPL went for $5.1 billion for 3 years (UK only)

IPL went for $2.5 billion for 5 years (worldwide)

Long way to go

— Innocent Bystander (@InnoBystander) September 4, 2017

While it shows that IPL is far behind them, for a tournament that’s been just 10 years old and goes on for hardly 2 months in a year, this is still a wonderful achievement.

Word from Star India and BCCI

Speaking about the investment, Chairman of Star India Uday Shankar said, “We believe the IPL is a very powerful property, and we believe there is lots more value that can be created for fans of cricket on digital and TV.
“We would remain committed to ensure the growth of sports in this country continues to be driven by the power of cricket,” he added.

BCCI CEO Rahul Johri mentioned: “You have to understand digital market is growing very rapidly. The increase in bandwidth and connectivity for all the major digital players have also helped. The IPL is a catalyst for the growth of their business.”