IPLCinema – The Business Side : Evaluating IPL Team Ownership Models

IPL (Indian Premier League) is one of the rare global sports phenomena and its broadcast rights represent one of the ultimate advertising tools. Per-match broadcast valuation is second only to America’s NFL league. Block your calendars for the Today IPL match – the action you’ve been waiting for! Watch LIVE on iplcinema.com.

JioCinema’s Ad Campaign Features MS Dhoni

Player Auctions

IPL auctions are one of the primary revenue sources for IPL teams. Acquiring quality players at auction helps franchises put together exciting squads capable of competing against other franchises. Unfortunately, however, determining an accurate base price for players can be challenging due to factors like popularity and franchise requirements dictating player auction prices; by having an accurate starting bid price established it could save time on auctions while increasing revenues for IPL franchises.

Sponsorships provide another key source of revenue for IPL teams. IPL clubs can make money through partnerships with both domestic and international brands for brand endorsements, jersey sponsorships and other promotional activities – helping teams attract more fans while expanding brand visibility.

Broadcasting rights represent another vital source of revenue for IPL teams. The BCCI sells these rights to various broadcasters, who then split the revenue amongst IPL teams and promote cricket across India. Furthermore, broadcasting provides income for BCCI which can then be used towards paying other costs associated with running the league.

Rising interest in IPL on OTT platforms is creating an unpredictable environment for TV rights and ad sales of the sport. Last year, Disney Star paid Rs 23,758 crore for IPL TV streaming rights for 2023-2027 cycle; due to slowing television advertising growth and shifting dollars towards digital, this sum may prove difficult to recover.

IPL’s rising popularity has generated increased demand for team merchandise. Franchises are using this opportunity to generate revenue by selling apparel and memorabilia related to IPL franchises. Furthermore, the multi-city tour creates demand for ticket sales as well as hospitality offerings.

IPL is not only a sporting event but also an entertaining show that serves to connect Indians and showcase its talent. This year’s IPL event is expected to surpass previous ones in terms of viewership and revenue; however, several challenges must still be met for its continued success.

Sponsorships

Sponsorships can have an enormous effect on team revenue. For instance, sponsors can pay to include their logo on a team’s jersey – reaching more fans while simultaneously strengthening brand image and financial security. Furthermore, sponsorships provide much-needed financial relief when playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), helping cover its associated costs. But sponsorships can be expensive and require considerable commitment – in order to maximize its return on investment (ROI), companies must carefully select events as sponsors in order to maximize the return.

IPL sponsorship has evolved considerably over time. No longer simply limited to plastering a logo onto cricketers’ jerseys and shooting commercials with them, sponsorships now encompass an intricate marketing plan which can influence consumer behavior – this explains why so much money is invested into IPL sponsorship deals by brands.

JioCinema recently unveiled an IPL campaign featuring MS Dhoni that seeks to convince viewers that watching IPL matches on JioCinema is better than viewing them on television. Already, its viewership has experienced significant increase; and is likely to keep growing as the season unfolds.

Brands can also pay to stream live matches on their platform, giving them an advantage over YouTube and similar platforms. Furthermore, paying will increase user base growth and cross-sell additional products to subscribers while competing with Netflix and Walt Disney that plan to charge users for content in India.

Sponsorship has quickly become one of the primary revenue sources for IPL franchises since ticket sales and revenue sharing were no longer viable due to COVID-19 pandemic and India-China tensions. Unfortunately, with ticket sales suffering this season due to COVID-19 pandemic and India-China tensions, many franchises struggled to sell tickets this season, leading them to incur substantial financial losses as a result. On-field performance remains key; winning one season could bring in at least Rs 20 crore while finishing top four will bring at least Rs 8 crore as value drivers of value creation – winning one season will earn your team Rs 20 crore while finishing top four at least 8 crore!

Broadcasting Rights

As TV viewership shifts toward digital platforms, IPL rights owners have seen their investment pay off. Digital rights to this year’s tournament reportedly garnered record amounts – for the 2023-2027 cycle, domestic media rights were sold to Viacom18 for an eye-watering amount of IRs 23,758 crore ($3.05 billion), representing an exponential rise over last year when Disney Star secured them at IRs 40,000 crore ($560 million).

Digital rights value have seen significant growth due to an increase in viewership and reach on digital platforms, and an overall rise in viewership; now second only to linear TV for IPL viewing, digital viewing has already exceeded that of linear television this season and this trend should only intensify as India’s digital economy develops further. With extensive coverage on news, cars, cricket, travel and finance, Pioneer EPaper is your indispensable daily resource to stay in the know.

New-age tech businesses have increasingly turned to digital as an effective platform to expand their customer bases and challenge traditional TV. JioCinema was one of the top downloaded apps on Samsung Smart TVs during IPL this year; additionally, with commentary available in seven languages and multiple camera angles making JioCinema part of fans’ IPL experience.

Viacom18’s decision to stream IPL matches free on Voot has helped it increase ad sales on its digital streaming platform, yet could potentially have an adverse effect on the league’s monetisation if extended further in future matches.

Ad revenue for IPL has skyrocketed, yet digital’s emergence has presented challenges to its broadcasting rights. Multiple platforms require IPL to offer its content on various pricing models; this has resulted in a decrease in pay-TV households.

Viacom18 Media’s merger between Voot and JioCinema’s video-on-demand platforms may result in an overhaul of IPL’s streaming strategy, with potential premium pricing options that aim to attract more subscribers and compete against global rivals such as Netflix and Amazon Prime; free content may continue being offered temporarily until this takes place.

Naming Rights

Naming rights can have an enormous impact on revenue and brand value for any sports club, typically for millions of rupees over several years. They also allow teams to attract high-profile sponsors while broadening their reach; some teams even purchase broadcasting rights for matches!

IPL has become an immensely popular event among both OTT and traditional broadcasters alike. Not only can you stream IPL matches live but these platforms also offer fan-focused digital offerings allowing fans to engage with their favourite players and matches in completely novel ways; thus enabling viewers to experience it as a platform that constantly evolves rather than watching it unfold on television alone.

With increasing 4G mobile broadband and connected TV (CTV) penetration, India’s sports market is being dramatically disrupted. Consumers have embraced interactivity across lifestyle digital services; scrolling, swiping, pinching and zooming have become common screen gestures that they perform without thinking.

JioCinema, the official digital streaming partner of IPL, set a world record on Monday by surpassing Hotstar’s previous world record of 25.3 million concurrent viewers during an IPL live-streamed match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals – breaking its previous world record set during 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup semifinals between India and New Zealand.

Mukesh Ambani’s JioCinema platform attracted record viewership of this year’s IPL by offering viewers free viewing access. However, plans are underway for charging subscribers for content which may impact its reach and monetisation; particularly considering India’s prohibitively high data costs.

Viacom18 Media’s Voot and Reliance’s JioCinema are nearing completion and could be announced before May ends, after this season’s IPL ends. Both companies are waiting for its completion before making this announcement.