Adding a new IPL franchise 2021: Senior BCCI officials wish to expand the list of franchises of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021) will only be possible once the entire board approves the decision at the next Annual General Meeting (AGM). This is why the board now plans to hold its annual general meeting in December. Once the members of the board approve and ratify the proposal to include the new franchise, a tender may be launched for it.
Process for convening an AGM BCCI – The BCCI Secretary must notify 21 days in advance to convene the AGM. In said AGM, the decision will also be made on whether the tender should be made for one or two franchises.
Adding a new IPL franchise 2021: How can the new addition affect existing franchises and broadcasters?
New onboarding can have a huge impact on existing stakeholders – see how
Existing IPL franchises – All IPL franchises obtain participation from BCCI’s Central Pool, which is currently distributed equally among the 8 franchises. With the addition of 1-2 franchises, your revenue share will decrease. From a franchise point of view, the BCCI must ensure that with the increase in the number of franchises, its existing revenues increase. If that is not happening, they will lose the current portion.
Another concern existing franchises have is: how will the Mega Auction take place? They are of the opinion that they currently have their kernel in place and it will not be correct to replace that kernel with only four months to go for the next IPL edition.
Broadcast partner – IPL’s official broadcaster, Star India, will also be affected by the increase in the number of franchises. Star is already losing out due to the high license fee for IPL. As per InsideSport’s understanding, according to BCCI’s contract with Star India, Star will be charged pro rata in case the number of matches increases in IPL 2021. Star India, as estimated by Pro-Rata, is spending 54 , 5 Cr per game IPL and if one follows the logic of the Pro-RATA base, Star will be asked to shell out very considerable amounts.
In the existing IPL format, if the teams increase to 9, the number of matches will be expanded to 76, that means 16 additional matches and 872 Cr of additional license fee for BCCI.
Will Star agree to such a walk? Only time will tell. A change in the IPL format cannot be ruled out either.
Adding a new IPL franchise 2021: challenges also for BCCI
BCCI IPL owners – BCCI undoubtedly wants to broaden the horizon by increasing the number of teams for the next edition. They have had some losses at IPL 2020 due to reduced title sponsor values and additional expenses rather than holding IPL 2020 in the UAE. If the BCCI will launch the tender for 1 team or immediately launch two teams, it can only be approved, ratified in said AGM.
BCCI’s biggest challenge would be the time constraint. In 4 months from now, the 2021 IPL is due to take place. If BCCI has to include a new team, they will have to complete not only the bidding process for the new addition, but they are also expected to hold a mega auction for IPL 2021 in January.
