BCCI to stay away from after-match IPL parties

These after match parties, on a full season basis, ride various sponsorshiptie ups of worth Rs 100-150 cr

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to stay away from organising “controversial” after-match parties in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL 7) and has left it to the team franchises’ to take a call on the matter.

“This is not our concern. We have left it to the team owners/franchises and it is their prerogative to decide things in this regard,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel told Business Standard.

IPL after-match parties have made the headlines mostly for the wrong reasons, for instance, the spot fixing of matches during IPL 6. These parties, on a full-season basis, ride various sponsorship tie-ups worth Rs 100-150 crore and come in handy as secondary sources of revenue for the franchises.

Most sports marketing executives point out that these parties do help the teams to get additional revenues.

“Phase II and Phase III of IPL in India are crucial for franchises to make up for the loss of revenue which might happen as initial matches are slated to be played in the UAE. These additional revenues are crucial for the franchisee owners. Since there is a lot going on already against the BCCI and the way it functions, it is safe to leave the matter to the individual franchises,” said a member of the IPL governing council requesting anonymity.

While there are various telecast rights tie-ups surrounding after-match parties, multiple on-the- spot advertisement and sponsorship opportunities come in handy to garner revenues.

IPL Nights

In IPL 3, former IPL chief Lalit Modi had also inked a three-year deal with Viacom18 to broadcast IPL-related events and create its own shows linked to the tournament.

MTV, Viacom18’s music channel, hosted ‘IPL Nights’, which included the telecast of fashion shows and after-match parties. The deal was later called off after Modi’s exit.

In fact, usually, there are ‘club lounge’ or ‘VIP’ tickets at each venue for access to such parties, which could cost somewhere between Rs 15,000-20,000.

The BCCI’s decision regarding after-match parties comes a day after the Supreme Court of India came down heavily on BCCI president N Srinivasan and asked him to step down over the spot fixing and betting scandal of IPL 6.