Slight dip in viewership won't impact media rights sale: IPL chairman Brijesh Patel

The Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights will be for sale for 2023 to 2027 cycle. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has estimated that the profits for IPL 2022 will be increased as compared to the previous years as two new teams have joined the contest this year. However, as per several reports, IPL has faced a 30-40% loss in the current edition.

It may be noted that the current rights are being held by Star Sports Network, who purchased it for the current cycle for INR 16,347.5 crore. Despite the viewership going down, the BCCI have doubled the current sales amount for the next tenure at INR 32,980. Meanwhile, IPL chairman Brijesh Patel has opined on the decreasing viewership of the toughest cricketing league in the world.

The viewership won’t affect the price of IPL media rights: Chairman Brijesh Patel

“There is a slight dip in viewership, but the numbers are not alarming. I don’t see them having any impact on the media rights sale,” Brijesh Patel told Hindustan Times.

The chairman also emphasized the fact that the removal of the Covid-19 restrictions across the country has contributed to the reduction of viewership as people are going to watch the game in restaurants and pubs.

“Things have opened up and people are traveling compared to what we faced in the past two years. We also believe a lot of people are now watching the games at restaurants, pubs, and clubs. What we see is one connection and hundreds of people watching,” the Chairman added.

Meanwhile, the 15th edition is going on smoothly with 48 matches already completed. Match 49 will be played on May 4 between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and the defending champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) Stadium in Pune. While RCB lost their previous match against the Gujarat Titans (GT), the Yellow Army defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH).