BCCI mulls two more franchise teams for IPL, fresh media rights by year-end

As per media reports, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to expand the Indian Premier League (IPL) team franchises and is considering adding two more teams. This is part of a new ‘blueprint’ that BCCI is said to have finalised that also concerns players’ salary, retention of cricketers and a new tender for securing media rights to the tournament. According to a report by The Times of India, these steps are expected to be taken between August 2021 and January 2022.

Currently, IPL has eight teams – Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad. The addition of two more teams will take the tally up to 10.

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As per the TOI report, BCCI is expected to come out with the tender documents of the two new franchise teams some time in August this year, and the new teams are expected to be revealed some time in October 2021.

The TOI report further states that several corporates have shown interest in owning IPL teams, including Adani Group (based in Ahmedabad), Torrent Group (based in Gujarat), RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (based in Kolkata), and Aurobindo Pharma (based in Hyderabad).

It may be recalled that in its 14-year existence, IPL has seen 5 teams becoming defunct. These are – Deccan Chargers, Kochi Tuskers Kerala, Pune Warriors, Gujarat Lions, and Rising Pune Supergiant.

As is known, IPL 2021 edition had to be stopped mid-way as India battled the second wave of COVID-19 infections. The tournament will resume in September-October this year, but considering the monsoon season in India at that time of the year, BCCI has decided to hold the remaining matches of IPL 2021 in the United Arab Emirates.

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Part 2 of IPL 2021, when it takes off in September-October, will see some of the international players missing from the tournament as they have withdrawn their participation in order to play for their respective countries.

Meanwhile, media reports state that BCCI is also planning to invite fresh bids for media rights for IPL towards the end of the year. Digital viewership of IPL has been seeing a steady rise in recent times, which has been further exacerbated by the pandemic period. The massive growth of OTT consumption, as compared to traditional linear television broadcast is expected to play a key role in the refreshed media rights for IPL. The addition of two more teams and increase in the duration of the tournament will be an attractive proposition for brands, which will look at the tournament to target their spring-summer marketing plans in 2022.