New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stands to lose in excess of Rs 2000 crore, mainly from the broadcast revenue, after the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 was postponed due to Covid-19 cases in bio-bubbles across franchises. The cricket board on Tuesday announced that the IPL was indefinitely postponed after players and support staff in multiple franchises tested positive for the virus in bio-bubbles in Ahmedabad and Delhi.
“We would be losing anything between Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 crore for the midway postponement of this season. I would say something in the range of Rs 2200 crore will be closer to accurate estimation,” the Press Trust of India quoted a senior BCCI official as saying.
Only 29 matches were played in the 60-match tournament which was scheduled to be played until May 30 in Ahmedabad. However, Match 29 of IPL 2021 between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore was rescheduled on Monday after two KKR players tested positive for Covid-19.
The biggest loss for BCCI is the money it gets from Star Sports for the broadcast rights of the tournament, the report added. Star Sports has a five-year contract worth Rs 16,347 crore which is Rs 3269.4 crore per year. If there are 60 games in a season, the per match valuation comes to approximately Rs 54.5 crore.
If Star pays per match, then the amount for 29 matches would be Rs 1580 crore approximately out of what would have been Rs 3270 crore for a full tournament. This means a loss of Rs 1690 crore for the Board.
Similarly, mobile manufacturers VIVO, as tournament’s title sponsors, pay Rs 440 crore per season and BCCI is likely to get less than half of that amount because of the postponement. Add to it, associate sponsor companies like Unacademy, Dream11, CRed, Upstox, and Tata Motors, who pay in the range of Rs 120 crore each. Some subsidiary sponsors are also there.
“Slash all the payments by half or a bit less and you will be reaching a loss in the range of 2200 crore. The actual losses could be much more but this is a back of the hand calculation for the season,” the official said.
BCCI vice-president Rajeev Shulka on Tuesday though clarified that the IPL was not cancelled but postponed. However, it remains to be seen if the cricket board can find a window for the T20 league, provided the Covid-19 crisis and the packed cricket calendar.
