Halfway through the 17^th season of IPL, the industry is abuzz with anticipated revenue numbers for this season. While some industry experts are positive of growth in advertising revenues on TV and digital – projections being around Rs 2,000 crore for each – others peg the collective revenue to be close to Rs 1,400 crore for each platform.

According to Elara Capital Senior VP Karan Taurani, both digital and TV will see revenue growth of 10-12 per cent and 5-7 per cent, respectively, this IPL season.

“TV revenue from IPL was around Rs 1,875 crore last year. This year it will grow by about 5 to 7 per cent to Rs 2,000 crore. Last year, digital was around Rs 1,800 crore. This will grow by 10-12 per cent to Rs 2,000 crore,” he said.

Another industry veteran, on the condition of anonymity, said the combined revenue on digital and TV from IPL is likely to be around Rs 4,000 crore this time.

Some other experts, well versed in the industry dynamics, believe the advertising revenue of digital and television from the current season of IPL may not be able to meet the 2022 figures, but is likely to be at par.

“We are expecting somewhere around Rs 1200-1400 in ad revenues for television and Rs 1400 crore for digital,” said a source who did not wish to be named.

According to industry observers, while there are a greater number of advertisers on digital, the entry point for advertisers on TV is high. “The barriers and costs associated with getting started or entering the market or through television are higher than digital but there are a greater number of advertisers on digital. So, the end revenue is expected to be at par,” said a source.

Last year was the first time that the streaming and broadcasting rights of the annual cricketing league were divided between Viacom18 and Disney Star. They are reported to have collectively earned a revenue of over Rs 4000 crore.

Going back to 2022, while the TV (Disney Star) ad revenue stood at Rs 3,800 crore, that of digital (Hotstar) was around Rs 800-1000 crore.

According to industry leaders, it will be tough for this season of IPL to surpass the 2022 figures because the cricketing gala was at its peak two years back, at least in respect of TV ad revenues.

“The combined ad revenue from TV and digital amounted to approximately Rs 4500 crore in 2022. While it is expected to surpass the ad numbers from 2023, it may fall short by around 10% compared to the figures from 2022. This is because TV constituted a significant portion of revenue during that period, whereas digital revenue, although growing, was relatively smaller,” Taurani noted.

In June 2022, BCCI sold the IPL broadcasting rights for a whopping Rs 48,390 crore, splitting digital and TV packages for the four-year cycle from 2023-2027.

Disney Star had won India TV rights of IPL for a bid of Rs 23,575 crore and Reliance-backed Viacom18 (owner of JioCinema) bagged the digital rights for Rs 23,758 crore.

Before that, IPL’s TV and digital rights were exclusively with Disney Star and its streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar.