If Sunday’s women's cricket match at full packed DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai has any indication, the upcoming women's Indian Premier League is going to be a euphoric tournament just as the men’s IPL, media and advertising industry experts say. 

The stadium, which held its first-ever international cricket match between India and Australia women's team, was packed with spectators. Such was the enthusiasm that the stadium authorities had to put up a “houseful” board outside. “Although the entry was free, people’s enthusiasm and love for women's cricket was remarkable. This indicates that the women's IPL will be as successful as the men’s IPL,” says Jigar Rambhia, COO Sporjo, who has closely studied the men’s IPL since its launch in 2008. 

Sony and Zee, which are set for merger, may not bid for the league mainly because they have recently bagged ICC media rights, Rambhia speculated. 

Officials of some prominent TV channels admitted that they would be trying their luck but requested anonymity citing confidentiality and sensitivity of the matter.

Sandeep Goyal, MD of Rediffusion, too feels that “everyone” would like to bid for the women’s league media rights for the industry has seen how IPL has emerged as the biggest sports property for advertisers.  

IPL has grown incredibly fast in terms of TV money being generated over the last five years. 

In a historic auction held early this year, broadcast heavyweights snapped up five-year media rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL) for a steep ?48,390, a threefold increase from the last auction held five years ago.

Disney Star acquired the rights to broadcast men’s IPL in the Indian subcontinent for Rs 23,575 Cr ($3.02 Bn) for 2023-27 and Viacom18 grabbed the digital rights for the league with a bid of INR 20,500 Cr ($2.57 Bn). 

With $12 million per match, IPL is only behind the NFL as the world's 2nd most lucrative sports league. 

Amazon already holds many other sports broadcast licenses, including the French Ligue 1, UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League, in the US. It had recently signed a $1 Bn-a-year deal with UEFA till 2033.