IPL Valuation Expected to Decline, Report Predicts

The estimation for future media rights revenue is largely dependent on the upcoming renewal of contracts, which are set to expire in three years. The current holders of IPL’s TV and digital rights, Disney Star and Viacom18, have a combined deal worth ₹48,390 crore. However, with the two companies merging into one entity, the competition for rights bidding is expected to decrease in the near future.

“We anticipate certain demand-side constraints in the next IPL media rights cycle auction due to a decrease in the number of potential bidders. Several significant developments from the past year have led us to revise our media rights value estimates like the failed merger between Zee and Sony, Network18-Disney Star India merger and delay in the entry of major global tech players,” Santosh N, Managing Partner, D&P Advisory, said.

The last round of media rights (2023-27) turned out to be the most fruitful for the league with valuation going up by three times. IPL had for the first time come up with invitation to bid for digital and linear TV rights separately. Given the expanded digital footprint in the country, both categories fetched nearly 50% returns each.

Compared to the previous edition, the Women’s Premier League (WPL) ecosystem value has increased from ₹1,250 crore to ₹1,350 crore, marking an 8% rise.

Despite a poor season on-field, the report sees five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians emerging as the most valued franchise in 2024 followed by Chennai Super Kings, the joint record holders for the most number of titles with MI.