Star India CEO projects INR 2000 Crores as IPL revenues

The CEO of the Star India TV network Uday Shankar went ahead and forecasted that INR 2000 Crores was what the network has projected just for the IPL. Speaking about reaching people who watch the IPL, Shankar said that he was expecting the Indian Premier League to reach upwards of 70 crore Indians. This is also the first time the Network is telecasting the marquee Indian tournament, something that had been telecast by Sony Pictures for the last 10 years.

“The target is to reach 70 crore Indians with IPL this year. Last year, 41 crore people watched IPL on television,” Uday Shankar had told the financial news website.

Media thinks we overpaid

Recently, the Star TV network competed in an e-auction to secure the BCCI’s media rights along with their compatriots Jio and Sony pictures before securing the rights. It seemed as though it was very expensive given the fact that they spent in excess of 6000 Crores INR, something that was viewed by many as expensive. Uday Shankar, the CEO stated that with a 14% growth was something that they expected, to say the least.

“Media thinks that we have overpaid for these (IPL) rights. But we are a serious, professionally run media company and we have plans,” Uday Shankar is quoted as saying. “The advertising industry is growing at a healthy 14% a year. Besides, we could grow at a higher rate since we get a leadership premium.”

“This year’s opening match reach was 42 million. That’s the kind of growth we are seeing,” says Uday Shankar. “The target is to reach 70 crore Indians (on TV and digital platforms) with IPL this year. Last year, 41 crore people watched IPL on television,” he said.

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