Cancelling the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League could cost the BCCI as much as Rs 3869.5 crores. With the outbreak and spread of COVID-19, the IPL season was postponed to April 15 from the original start date of March 29. With COVID-19 cases still on the rise in India, we might even be in for a cancellation of the whole season.
Former Nimbus Communication Chairman, Harish Thawani says, “If the IPL isn’t staged at all, and BCCI is not insured, then it could be an issue.” However, most teams are expected to be covered by insurance. This includes the BCCI which would also be covered by insurance in case of such an eventuality.
The Rs 3,869.5 crore purported loss would include Rs 3,269.5 crore for broadcast and other streaming revenue, Rs 200 crore of central sponsorship revenue and Rs 400 crore of title sponsorship revenue. The title sponsorship rests with Vivo, which had taken over from Star India, for Rs 2,000 crore for a duration of five years.
If there is no reduction in the number of COVID-19 cases or casualties by April 15, we might be in for an IPL behind closed doors with no spectators. In this case, the number of venues could be restricted to 3 or 4 to reduce logistics cost and minimise the danger of contracting the virus. In this case, the revenue frim broadcast and streaming won’t be affected.
What would, however, be hit is the revenue from stadiums including gate charges and food and beverage charges for franchises. It isn’t a huge share of the revenue as only less than 15% of a franchise’s money comes from stadiums. 85% of it comes from the broadcast and streaming rights. According to Thawani, the net loss could be around Rs 2.5 crore per match.