IPL Brand Value inches closer to NFL, WPL valued at $150 million

Indian Premier League continues to grow at a record-breaking pace. After 16th edition of IPL, BCCI’s prized T20 league has grown by 6.3% to be valued at ₹92,500 Crore in 2023. With adjusted exchange rate, IPL has inched closer to America’s National Football League (NFL) with a dollar brand value of $11.2 billion as per D&P Advisory report.

While the 16th edition saw no additional teams, BCCI received a whopping ₹48,390 Crore from the sale of IPL media rights deal, shot up the brand value. Furthermore, with the home and away format back in play, IPL teams also received gate money that added to the brand value.

“This year’s IPL ecosystem value therefore demonstrates modest increment as actual cash flows closely mirror our prior projections,” Santosh N, Managing Partner of D&P Advisory said of the latest valuation.

IPL brand value only behind NFL

With NFL leading the charts with a $17 billion brand value, IPL is second now. In 2022, IPL had a brand value of ₹87,000 crore or $10.9 billion. Now, It is up at ₹92,500 crore or $11.2 billion. 60-65% of the brand valuation will be credited to BCCI while the rest will be accruing to all 10 IPL teams.

BCCI earns 50% of the central pool with all IPL teams sharing the remaining half. In addition, the Indian board also gets 20% profit share from the franchises’ revenue. Hence, BCCI ends up with 60% of the central pool in reality.

“This translates to an aggregate business value of around $3.9- 4.5 billion for all franchises combined. With ten franchises, an average intrinsic business valuation per team fall in the ballpark of $390-450 million,” Santosh N added.

At the same time, the Women’s Premier League, which saw its inaugural edition this year, was valued at ₹1,250 crore ($150 million) on the back of media and title rights deals, the report noted.

WPL opens account

The Women’s Premier League (WPL) has also opened its account in the valuation world. After the inaugural season, the WPL is valued at ₹1,250 Crore or $150 million.

The substantial value is due to media rights deal. Viacom18 paid ₹951 Crore for a five-year deal. Hence, in terms of per match value, WPL earns around ₹7.09 Crore. Furthermore, Tata paid ₹165 Crore to secure the title sponsorship deal.

Only Women’s NBA is ahead in terms of media rights deal per season. WNBA earns $25 million a season from media rights whereas WPL will earn $23.4 million. No other women’s cricket league comes close to WPL. The Women’s Premier League began this year with 5 teams and 22 games.

Mumbai Indians on top

When it comes to franchise valuation, despite Chennai Super Kings winning their 5th IPL title, Mumbai Indians are the most valued IPL team. Virat Kohli-starrer Royal Challengers Bangalore are third.

“Mumbai Indians emerges as the most valued IPL franchise in 2023 with its intrinsic business value within the range of $410-450 million and leads the brand valuation table in 2023,” the report added.

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