The IPL chairman wants to host Fan Parks in Dubai, the UK and America as part of their ambitious plans to compete financially with the NBA and English Premier League.
With the 11th edition reaching its business end ahead of Sunday’s finale at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, Rajeev Shukla wants to expand the global brand worldwide.
It is already the world’s wealthiest cricket league thanks to a five-year $2.55-billion broadcast deal with Star TV. And Shukla has set his sights on being on the same level financially as the NBA and EPL.
“We are not able to figure out where it (broadcast rights and sponsorship) will peak… but I think after the EPL, this is the most important league. It can match any league,” said Shukla.
“In (Indian) cities where we don’t host matches, we organise fan parks where we invite people to watch the match on the big screen. So 20,000-30,000 people are coming to the fan parks.
“Now we are planning to take it overseas, to places like Dubai, the UK and also America.”
Although the IPL continues to go from strength to strength every year, they would still have to play catch up significantly to be on the same page as EPL and NBA.
The IPL’s 60 games earn earn about $8.5 million (R102-million) per game in television revenues, just in India.
According to industry figures, each EPL football match raises more than $11 million (R130-million) just in the UK, with more expected from their foreign broadcast rights.
And while an EPL match would be watched by 12 million around the world, last year’s IPL find was watched by 40 million. Yet, the NFL still tops the list with 20 million viewers per match.
