IPL 2020 broadcasters doubt tournament taking place due to poor market conditions: Report

Cricketing action all over the world has been suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic which has caused problems galore for broadcasters, as well as, administrators. The Indian Premier League (IPL 2020), which was one of the most anticipated tournaments of the year, also suffered at the hands of the deadly virus as it was postponed indefinitely by the BCCI.

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IPL 2020 broadcasters unsure if there's a market to support the cash-rich league

There is still a cloud of uncertainty looming over the fate of the IPL 2020. And the cancellation or postponement of IPL 2020 further is set to make the BCCI lose a whopping ₹4000 crore according to the board's treasurer, Arun Dhamal as per multiple reports in June. With the global economic climate adversely affected by the pandemic, that could be a reality as advertisers might be discouraged from spending a fortune on the cash-rich league if it goes ahead.

Recently, the chairman of the Disney India, Uday Shankar made a huge statement saying that the market is not ready to support the IPL 2020 with the same fervour and gusto in the current economic environment as in the past. According to him, even if the market recovers in the next 6-8 weeks, the advertisers would be reluctant to spend thousands of crores on advertising on the IPL 2020.

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While speaking to The Economic Times, Shankar said that if there is one tournament where advertisers will put in their money, it is indeed IPL but only if they 'have to' put monies. He added that the market has gone through a massive shock. The 'million-dollar' question in the truest sense would be whether it would recover enough for companies to put thousands of crores worth of advertising on the tournament, whose fate is uncertain as of now too.

Star India's acquisition of broadcast rights of the Indian Premier League in 2017 was one of the biggest sporting deals in India. Star India, now merged with Disney India, paid a whopping ₹16,347.5 crore for the rights to broadcast the event for five years. However, now after 3 years, the proposition does not seem as lucrative as earlier.

According to InsideSport’s estimate, Star India managed to generate advertising revenues in the range of ₹2000-2200 crore per season in their first two years of business with the BCCI on IPL. Star was targeting the magical figure of ₹3000 crore for the IPL 2020 advertising sales. But with the coronavirus pandemic stalling all sporting events, the IPL 2020 is also in limbo.

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According to Shankar, for Star and other advertisers, IPL 2020 only makes sense if the advertising activity is really substantial and that in the current economy, is almost impossible. He added that IPL is an expensive tournament. They have paid huge money to acquire the rights. So, in order for them to recover the cost as well as the other stakeholders, the advertising activity needs to be really substantial. 

Shankar reckoned that they don't know when exactly IPL will happen. He added that every engagement they had with BCCI, they got a sense that the BCCI is extremely keen to do it sooner than later provided that environment is safe and they find a place which is safe to hold the tournament. However, he opined that right now, nothing can happen because monsoons have started and grounds are unserviceable. Hopefully, when monsoon ends, the virus gets diffused and they will be able to get back to these talks about the IPL 2020.

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IMAGE COURTESY: INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE INSTAGRAM