Board contemplating whether to add one or two teams; the industry says the time is not right
MUMBAI: riding the wave of an immensely successful 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), and in line with the policy established last year, the BCCI plans to launch a tender for new franchises shortly after Diwali week ends.
TOI had first reported the same in November 2019, when BCCI began considering adding two new franchises to the IPL after the 2020 edition, but later concluded that only one franchise should be added per now (for the 2021 edition) and the other from the 2022 season onwards.
The lack of consensus, on one or two franchises in the next issue, continues and a possible solution is likely to emerge in the next 72 hours as the league’s top board officials and governing council come together. “The bidding is more likely to take place after Diwali, once a decision is made on it. And regardless of whether it’s a franchise or two, if new equipment comes in, you can’t avoid a mega auction,” they said. the sources.
As previously reported, the Adani Group, Tatas and the RPG-Sanjiv Goenka Group are eager to own a franchise in IPL. Leading banker Uday Kotak has also shown interest along with media entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala.
Regarding what the BCCI decides, the eight existing franchises and other stakeholders have three main concerns:
a) The core revenue pool is unlikely to change until the 2023 edition, and thus the arrival of new equipment will result in the current revenue cycle becoming diluted.
second) With the 2021 edition of the league set to begin anytime between the last week of March and the first week of April, there is not enough time (just three and a half months) to do a mega auction.
C) If a new franchise is brought in, it will result in 60 games up to 76, in the current format. If two new franchises join, the number of games will increase to 90 and a major concern is that the IPL window is too short to adjust these games.
The industry is watching developments with great interest as they await major changes in a league that is now considered one of the most popular sports properties in the world and was last valued by Duff & Phelps at more than $ 6 billion.
“The BCCI will submit a media rights tender towards the end of 2021. Star’s five-year IPL agreement will end with the 2022 season and the board will seek to maximize its streaming revenue,” said industry sources such as new digital players Amazon. and Facebook have started looking Cricket market. They added that “ideally BCCI should submit a tender for new franchises after the media rights tender because they will get a higher value. In the midst of this pandemic, it is always a risky proposition.”
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