Indian Premier League Brand Value Falls For First Time In 6 Yrs

The brand value of the Indian Premier League (IPL) went down for the first time in six years - by 3.6 percent over one year. From Rs 47,500 crore in 2019, it fell to Rs 45,800 crore in 2020, the

The individual franchisees have also witnessed a reduction in their brand values over the last year, mainly due to reduced franchisee-related sponsorship revenue, loss of gate receipts, reduced food and beverage (F&B) revenue, and certain teams' on-field performances.

The report further stated that champions Mumbai Indians remained the most valuable franchise with a brand value of Rs 761 crore. However, this is down by 5.9 percent from Rs 809 crore in 2019.

The highest drop in brand value was suffered by three-time champions Chennai Super Kings, who were evaluated at Rs 611 crore which is down 16.5 percent from Rs 732 crore after IPL 2019. Kolkata Knight Riders have seen the second-highest brand reduction at 13.7 per cent from Rs 629 crore after IPL 2019 to Rs 543 crore last year.

"Similar to the impact on other businesses and the overall economy, the pandemic led to a decline in the IPL ecosystem value. However, with people forced to spend time at home, there was an increase in IPL television viewership. The 2020 edition was a huge success for broadcasters as it broke viewership and advertising revenue records."

"Television ratings skyrocketed and advertisers tapped into this opportunity to scale up their brand image. Despite the challenging year, this momentum is indicative of how strong the IPL brand has become," said Santosh N., External Advisor, Duff & Phelps India Pvt Ltd.

However, IPL's impact on its sponsors and partners continues to be remarkable, said the report. Following the announcement of central sponsorships by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the title sponsor Dream11 secured USD 225 million in funding, one of the official sponsors Unacademy joined in with the funding of USD 150 million, and another official sponsor, Cred, secured USD 80 million.

"With the economy opening and Covid-19 cases decreasing in India, we expect sponsorship deals to be back to their pre-COVID-19 levels. We have now entered a more stable phase in terms of the IPL ecosystem's value; the value appreciation is not expected at the rate of previous years."

"However, an increase in the number of teams in 2022 and the renewal of media rights in 2023 could enhance the IPL ecosystem value in the future," Santosh said.