Media rights auction, new teams push IPL's value over $10 billion: Report

Since 2020, the value of IPL has jumped 75 per cent in dollar terms from $6.2 billion to $10.9 billion

The valuation of the Indian Premier League (IPL) topped $10 billion in 2022, according to a new report. Since 2020, the value of the league has jumped 75 per cent in dollar terms from $6.2 billion to $10.9 billion. In terms of the rupee, it has jumped 90 per cent. 

The valuation of the league, according to "Beyond 22 Yards" released by D and P Advisory, jumped primarily by the $6.2 billion sale of media rights and auction of two new teams, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow SuperGiants. The two new teams have a combined value of $1.6 billion. 

"On a constant currency basis, the value of IPL would have been close to $12 billion. However, the currency depreciation of 10-12 per cent has taken away the value of the IPL media rights in USD terms," Santosh N, managing partner of D and P India Advisory Services was quoted as saying by the Economic Times (ET). 

In this year's auction, the media rights were split for the first time between two different rights holders. IPL TV rights went to Disney Star for Rs 23,575 crore and digital rights went to Viacom18 for Rs 23,758 crore. 

Another factor that led to a rise in valuation was the increase in the number of matches in the next season from 74 to 94. It would mean higher ticket sales and in-stadium revenue. 

The valuation of the existing teams is somewhere between $400-$600 million. 

"There could be some outliers like certain franchises would be above or below, depending on the franchise we are talking about. However, most teams would be sitting in that range," Santosh added. 

The ability of media rights owners to pay higher amounts in the next auctions, according to Santosh, will depend upon the kind of monetisation of the 2023 cycle.