Kotak values IPL at $18B

Kotak Mutual Fund says the Indian Premier League is now worth about $18 billion, putting the cricket tournament among the world’s richest sports properties. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The fund’s report pegged the league’s ecosystem at roughly $18 billion in fiscal year 2025 and said one season now generates more than $1 billion in economic value. The estimate was reported on April 9 by The Economic Times, citing Kotak Mutual Fund. (economictimes.indiatimes.com) The Indian Premier League already had locked-in media money before this new estimate. In June 2022, the Board of Control for Cricket in India sold 2023-2027 media rights for 48,390.32 crore rupees, or about $6.2 billion at the time. (iplt20.com) Sponsorship money has also climbed. In January 2024, the Board of Control for Cricket in India renewed Tata Group’s title sponsorship for 2024-2028 at 2,500 crore rupees, which the league called the highest title sponsorship in its history. (iplt20.com) Audience scale helps explain why investors and advertisers keep paying more. JioStar said Tata Indian Premier League 2025 reached 537 million television viewers and 652 million digital viewers, with the final alone reaching 426 million across television and digital. (jiostar.com) The league’s business has expanded well beyond one central rights deal. The Board of Control for Cricket in India added four official partners in March 2024 — My11Circle, Angel One, RuPay and CEAT — alongside the title sponsor and broadcast arrangements. (iplt20.com) Franchise values have risen with the league. Brand Finance said in December 2024 that the Indian Premier League’s cumulative brand value had reached $12 billion, up 13%, and that four teams had crossed $100 million in brand value for the first time. (brandfinance.com) That franchise inflation has been visible in actual bidding. When the league expanded in October 2021, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said the new Lucknow and Ahmedabad teams were sold at “such a high valuation,” with the additions taking the competition from eight teams to ten from the 2022 season. (bcci.tv) The $18 billion figure is Kotak Mutual Fund’s estimate, not a sale price or an audited market transaction. But it lands in a league where media rights, sponsorships, team sales and audience numbers have all moved sharply higher over the past four years. (economictimes.indiatimes.com)