IPL premier league flashscore: Indian Premier League, abbreviated as IPL, is arguably the most popular sporting league in India, and one of the most valuable ones in the world. One can find fans enjoying the game in packed stadiums, on their televisions, and some checking for IPL T20 live score on their smartphones. The tournament has grown to such gargantuan proportions that it has made BCCI the richest cricket board in the world with a valuation of 33730 Cr INR, whereas the next four cricket boards on the list have a total valuation of 6591 Cr INR. Needless to say, IPL is the largest revenue generator for BCCI. But do you know how the league generates its revenue? Well, let’s find out.

In the beginning

IPL was founded in 2008 with eight teams, namely Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Kings Eleven Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Deccan Chargers (now defunct), Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals), Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Rajasthan Royals. The very first game of the tournament was hosted at Chinnaswamy stadium, Bengaluru, and with the very first ball bowled, Indian cricket changed forever. The match, played between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore, scripted history in more ways than one. Brendon Mccullum smashed a mind-boggling 158 off 73 balls, with Kolkata putting up a total of 222 runs. Quite obviously, they won the game. But the juggernaut of Indian cricket was just getting started. For the first time, cricket stadiums began to be filled right up to the brim, and the game transformed into a glamorous festival of sports overnight.

Follow the money

Gradually, the league started pulling in a huge amount of money and the pomp and show of the tournament just kept growing. Some of the biggest names in the world of cricket like Sachin Tendulkar, Adam Gilchrist, and Shane Warne, adorned the pitch with their talent. 

The core business model of IPL is to invite giant companies to purchase cricket franchises. These companies pay huge sums of money to take up ownership of the franchises because the returns generated on the invested capital are massive.

Now, let us take a look at each of the revenue streams in detail.

• Media rights- Be it searching for premier league flashscore on your smartphone, or watching the game live on television, mass media streams the matches live so that we can enjoy them from anywhere in the world. These big media companies pay millions to secure exclusive broadcasting deals and this revenue ends up in the coffers of the league and the teams as a whole. This revenue stream is one of the most lucrative for the sport since the viewership numbers are massive and are rising every season.

• Sponsorships- If you are a fan of IPL, you will find that the jerseys of the players are literally covered with logos of big companies. Not only that, every aspect of the sport has been commercialized and appears to be sponsored by someone or the other. These sponsors pay huge sums of money to secure a spot because the IPL provides them with such large-scale publicity that no one else can. The revenue generated from sponsorships enriches the coffers of the stakeholders greatly.

• Merchandise sales- The franchises generate a considerable sum of revenue from the sale of merchandise like jerseys, hoodies, flags, shoes, memorabilia, etc. Although not as lucrative as the previous pair, they still manage to generate quite a respectable amount of revenue for the stakeholders involved.

• Stake sale- Another revenue source that has gained prominence in recent seasons is the liquidation and selling of stakes in franchises. These can result in windfall gains for the existing promoters and new investors can also expect to generate huge returns in the future. This revenue stream, though not common, can result in huge cashflows for all those involved.

• Ticket sales- This is one of the most significant sources of revenue for the franchises. The league and BCCI receive a small cut from these ticket sales. The majority of the cash flow from this source goes into the coffers of the franchise and that is why it is the franchisees who affix the ticket prices.

• Prize money- Another significant source of revenue for the franchises is the prize money that is awarded by the league to various top performers. Nowadays, there are prize monies for metrics like best catch, best fielder, etc., and these prizes are paid for by the sponsorship amounts. The franchisee who wins the overall tournament gets a huge amount of cash as prize money, which they can later use for improving the squad in the next season, as incentives, or in whatever manner they wish to.

• Player auctions- The festivity of IPL starts with the player auctions every season. In this arena, dreams are made and broken. With every stroke of the auctioneer’s gavel, millions of rupees are transacted. Player sales from one franchise to the others is big business. A franchise that spots a promising talent early on can hope to earn big by selling him off to any other franchise in the future for a huge amount.

• Premier league flashscore- For all those who love cricket but are busy, these services are a boon. They can check out the IPL T20 live score while working or studying. These services are provided by both franchisees and third-party providers and they usually their source of income is advertisement revenue.

These were the primary sources of revenue for all the stakeholders of the IPL and the bulk of the total revenue is generated through these methods.

Final take:

In 2008, Rajasthan Royals defeated a spirited Chennai Super Kings, to be crowned the first-ever champions of the IPL. The league has only grown in popularity over the years, and be it stadium-going fans or students following the game via premier league flashscore updates, the interest in the game is at an all-time high and only keeps growing season on season.