Mohit Burman predicts 20–30% rise

Mohit Burman’s forecast is a reminder that this story is not only about one executive’s optimism. It is about the mechanics of how the Indian Premier League has become one of the most expensive sports-rights properties in the world, and why investors, broadcasters and franchise owners are now talking about its next auction years before the current one ends. Burman, the Punjab Kings co-owner and Dabur India chairman, told PTI on May 17 that a 20%–30% increase in the next IPL media-rights cycle would not be surprising. Best Media Info published the comments on May 18. The current starting point is already large. The IPL’s 2023–2027 media-rights cycle was sold for roughly 48,390 crore rupees, or about $6.2 billion at the time, with television and digital rights split across different buyers rather than packaged under one owner. That structure matters because the next negotiation will not be judged against a low base. It will be judged against a rights deal that already reset the market in 2022. (bestmediainfo.com) ### What exactly did Burman say? Burman told PTI that putting an exact figure on the next cycle would be speculative because the media business is changing quickly. He said the balance between television and digital is shifting each year and that consumer behavior is moving toward mobile and streaming-first viewing. He then gave the headline number: a 20%–30% increase in the next cycle “would not be surprising,” according to the PTI interview reproduced by Best Media Info and The Economic Times. (sportspro.com) His wording is important because he did not present a formal valuation model or a bidding forecast from the Board of Control for Cricket in India, which runs the IPL. He framed it as a view based on audience consistency, advertiser demand and the way investors are pricing teams. (bestmediainfo.com) ### Why are franchise valuations part of a media-rights story? Recent team valuations are central to Burman’s argument. The PTI interview said recent investments in Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru valued those franchises at roughly $1.65 billion and $1.78 billion, respectively, or close to $2 billion each in round terms. Burman argued that those prices reflect how investors see IPL teams as long-term sports, media and entertainment assets rather than only cricket businesses. (bestmediainfo.com) That logic runs in both directions. Expensive media rights support franchise revenues through central distributions, and richer franchise valuations reinforce the case that the league’s audience and sponsorship engine can support another step-up in rights fees. Burman explicitly linked those valuations to the broader commercial strength of the IPL. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) ### What does the current rights package tell us about the next auction? The 2022 auction showed how much value had shifted toward streaming. SportsPro, citing BCCI’s confirmation, reported that Disney Star paid 23,575 crore rupees for domestic TV rights, while Viacom18 paid 23,758 crore rupees for digital rights covering the Indian subcontinent and several overseas markets. That near-parity between TV and digital was one of the clearest signals that the IPL had become as much a streaming product as a television one. (bestmediainfo.com) Burman’s comments follow directly from that trend. He said digital-rights value could rise sharply even if television economics change, according to the PTI version carried by The Economic Times. In other words, the next auction may not depend on every segment rising equally. It may depend on whether digital bidders see enough subscriber, advertising and engagement upside to pay more. (sportspro.com) ### Do the audience numbers support that argument? Houlihan Lokey’s 2025 IPL valuation study said the league’s business value rose 12.9% to $18.5 billion and its stand-alone brand value rose 13.8% to $3.9 billion. The same report said Punjab Kings posted the highest year-on-year brand-value growth among franchises, at 39.6%. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The report also pointed to large viewing figures across both digital and television. Houlihan Lokey said JioHotstar recorded 1,370 million views during the opening weekend of IPL 2025, while Star Sports drew 253 million unique TV viewers over the same period. Those figures do not prove what the next auction will fetch, but they do show the kind of engagement data owners cite when arguing that the league can command more money. (hl.com) ### What should readers watch next? The next hard milestone is not immediate. The current IPL media-rights cycle runs through 2027, so the decisive signal will come when BCCI begins the process for the next tender and clarifies how it plans to package television, digital and overseas rights. (hl.com) Until then, the most relevant indicators will be franchise transactions, annual valuation studies, audience data from broadcasters and streamers, and any BCCI documents laying out the post-2027 auction structure. Burman has offered a number; the market test will come when the next bidding round opens after the present cycle ends in 2027. (bestmediainfo.com)