IPL – The money-making machine!!

Sports is the word which probably brings out the excitement in everyone.

And why not?

After all who doesn't like a little bit of healthy competition.

Anyway, we all know that this year something happened that no one has expected.

Yes, I am talking about the pandemic and the lockdown.

All the sports got postponed.

Especially, IPL got postpone.

Well, this year sporting events have been either stalled, or only a few have been held under strict restrictions due to the current pandemic.

But in the return of T20 tournament — the Indian Premier League (IPL) seems to have brought back the excitement amongst viewers who were looking for some live sports action. 

IPL offers very high visibility, and brands are keen to take leverage of this. IPL 2020 will be the biggest impact platform available for businesses as they go into the festive season. 

It is believed that Star Sports earned about Rs 3,000 crore from IPL last year, including Rs 600 crore of ad - revenue earned by Hotstar — is looking at earning more, this year. 

The broadcaster is currently charging for a 10-second slot Rs 12 lakh. Last year, for the same slot the broadcaster charged between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. 

And with festive season comping up, Star India will exploit the festive seasons as brands will be looking to spend more. The festive season usually sees an increase in consumer spending and sales. 

As much as 40 to 45 per cent of the entire year's advertising spend happens in the festive season, i.e. between Ganesh Chaturthi and the New Year. These three core months is the only period for advertisers this year and for brands.

Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC India) released a viewership data, 462 million viewers watched last year' IPL matches. When compared to the previous season, Tthe reach of the tournament was up 12%. The viewership of IPL this year is going to be high as people are hungry for live sports. Moreover, there is a lack of content competition such as Bollywood movie releases to distract viewers from IPL, will also lend to the viewership rise.

An increase in viewership will drive much of the rise in ad revenue. Besides English and Hindi feed, Star Sports also telecast the matches in four languages — Tamil, Telugu, Bangla and Kannada. This year's IPL has a captive, at the home audience and is poised to become the most-watched tournament ever. In addition to advertising revenue, Disney+ Hotstar earning from subscription is expected to rise substantially, during this IPL. 

Well, COVID or not, IPL has always brought in big money for the people associated with it. This year seems no different from others. What do you think about it?