IPL’s brand value up by a billion dollar in a year, says New York-based finance body

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is perhaps the biggest thing to have happened in not just Indian cricket, but world cricket in the 21st century. The T20 tournament, which was launched a decade back to counter the rebels’ Indian Cricket League (ICL), saw the completion of its 11th edition this year and in this time, the brand’s worth has gone higher by another one billion dollars.

The annual summer cricket carnival held in India continues to attract more viewers and advertisers despite the periodic odds that it has faced in the form of fixing and other controversies. Over the years all the figures have been positive, the number of participating players, the viewership as well as the revenue.

According to the Times of India, a New York-based corporate financial advisor Duff & Phelps has said in its annual report that the cash-rich tournament’s valuation has gone up by 19 per cent from $5.3 billion in 2017 to $6.3 billion this year. In 2016, its valuation stood at $4.16 billion.

IPL 2018 scales new highs

The 2018 edition of the tournament saw a new broadcast partner in Star India who paid the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Rs 16,345.7 crore for the rights over the next half a decade, the report said, adding that the latest edition also saw the return of two of its original teams – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Rajasthan Royals after serving a ban of two years.

The CSK, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, went on to win their third title on return. The tournament was also an exciting one this year despite having a predictable start and the four playoff qualifiers were decided on the final day of the league stage. The global finance advisor also said in its report that the 2018 edition was also the first which saw almost all matches getting sold out.

It also said that commentary in eight different languages across 17 channels helped in raising the viewership.
In terms of the franchises, Mumbai Indians ($113 million) and Kolkata Knight Riders ($104 million) joined the $100 million brand value club while CSK and Royal Challengers Bangalore had brand values worth $98 million.

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