IPL brand value rockets 13.5% to Rs 47,000 crore
The Indian Premier League’s brand value has gone up by 13.5 % to Rs 47,000 crore from Rs 41,800 crore in 2018. As per the report by Duff and Phelps, issued on Thursday.
However, there has been a decrease in value in contrast to the 19 percent growth recorded in 2018, ad spends have gone up by 20 percent regardless of this being the year of the ICC World Cup.
“The league has gradually transitioned from being a startup to being a more mature, stable and professional business model,” says Varun Gupta, managing director, Asia Pacific Leader for Valuation Services, Duff & Phelps, who elucidates the reason behind this shooting up are constant support exhibited by advertisers, sponsors, partners and broadcasters.
“An increase of 20 percent in advertising revenues this year, and the recently renewed Paytm title sponsorship deal [which has fetched an increase of 58 percent on a per-match basis over the last deal] are testaments to the continued popularity of the IPL,” added Gupta.
Mumbai Indians, after winning their fourth title, had recorded the highest valuation of Rs 809 crore. Followed by Chennai Super Kings at Rs 732 crore.
Santosh N, managing partner, D and P India Advisory Service LLP, states that elements such as team performance, star players, marketing, celebrity influence and social media engagement influence valuation. This accounts for fall in the valuations of the Kolkata Knight Riders and the *% fall of the Royal Challengers Bangalore since 2018.
“If not for the personal brand equity of RCB captain Virat Kohli, the team’s brand value would have suffered further,” he adds. “On the other hand, a team like Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), which has performed consistently in the short period of its existence, has still not been able to reach the Top 4 positions because it lacks some of the marquee players.” The valuation of SRH has gone up by 4.6 percent since last year and is fixed at Rs483 crore.
“At least three to four teams have become profitable, while the losses made by the rest is almost immaterial because they are close to break-even,” explains Santosh, who stated that the firm doesn’t have access to the financial workings of each teams. “But our understanding is that the share of the central pool of revenues between teams has been decent because of the 2017 [media rights] renewals that happened at a huge premium. This has resulted in most losses getting covered.”
IPL viewership has also exibited an inspiring course, with Hotstar breaking its own record twice in this edition.
