BCCI plans international version of premier league
NewDelhi, India - Jan 20, 2008
Indian Premier League (IPL) may not have yet started but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), is planning to expand it. Charged up by an overwhelming response to the bidding process, the Board is also considering to hold an international level tournament later this year.

' According to the sources involved with the IPL, the Board is waiting for the bidding process to get over for taking a final call on the subject. “The expansion of the league, however, will depend upon how successful is the bidding process, in terms of its revenue and the interest it evokes from the corporate world. An international tournament is very much on the cards. It may be held later this year,” an official involved with IPL told ET.

The Board also has plans to increase teams from the existing 8 to 12 by 2010, before the ODI World Cup is held in the sub-continent in 2011. “This model is quite similar to the model adopted by the English Premier League (EPL).

The teams which will not perform well will be relegated to a lower level and the best teams will compete on the venues, where they can make the most benefit, both commercially and in terms of viewrship,” said the official. World Sport Group (WSG) and Sony MAX has bagged the global audio-visual rights of the IPL for 10 years for $1.026 billion.

The board has also decided that the new teams will be sold only to new contenders and not the existing one. The IPL format owners expect that those involved with the league will be able to earn return on investments at the most by the fourth year.

Balu Nayar, head, IMG India, which has designed the format of IPL, feels that with the media rights announced earlier this week, the attractive RoI and capital appreciation potential seen in sporting leagues world-wide, it will not be tough for owners in IPL to generate revenues.

“The enduring marketing property that team ownership represents as well as other collateral benefits all add up to a package that presents great value for a team owner,” he said.

According to IMG India, the real revenues for the team owners will come from the corporate business tickets, which will form almost 50% of the total revenues generated from ticket sale. “The key thing for the team owner will be to maximise his local revenues, gate revenues and licensing opportunities. It’s a big business in the West, where teams make a lot of money through merchandising,” he said.