The 14th season of the Indian Premier League is all set to begin from the coming weekend (April 9). IPL 2021 will have eight teams with matches being played at six venues across India. While the fans were initially hoping to get to attend the games in person this year, BCCI has washed away all such doubts by hosting the matches behind closed doors. More so they have brought in a huge change with the selection of the venue. All venues in IPL 2021 are neutral, giving no home advantage for any IPL franchise.
The matches will take place at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata & Mumbai. Besides Ahmedabad and Delhi, who will host 8 matches each, all other venues will host ten matches out of the 56 matches of the league stage.
But the season keeps getting bigger and better with its Broadcasting. According to reports the IPL is all set to be broadcasted into 120 countries.
With BCCI continuing its partnership with Disney+Hostar, fans in India can view the game on the OTT platform with VIP subscription. Meanwhile, TV viewers can watch it on the Star Sports Channel Catalogue in English, Hindi and six regional languages (Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Tamil & Telegu).
Star India, the official broadcaster and global rights holder of the IPL bagged media rights for a massive amount of Rs 16,347.50 crores for a period of five years (2018-2022). The Indian broadcaster acquired TV and OTT (Audio, Video, and other media services via the internet) rights.
Star has signed multiple contracts with broadcasters worldwide to showcase the 14th season of the IPL LIVE.
Where to watch the IPL outside India?
Cricket viewers in USA and Canada, can watch the Indian Premier League on Willow TV channel.
Fans in the UK & Ireland can witness the game on Sky Sports. The British broadcaster will telecast all 60 games of IPL 2021 after signing a three-year deal.
Star India has also announced that the tournament will be available on Disney+Hotstar to subscribers in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Fox Sports has bagged the media rights for broadcasting the game in Australia & New Zealand. The game will also be available on the OTT platform Kayo Sports.
Star has also signed a deal with leading South African broadcaster SuperSport to broadcast in Sub-Saharan Africa; all matches will be live-streamed on the SuperSport digital platform and Showmax Pro.
Viewers in the Middle East and North America can watch the game on BeIN. It is the leading football broadcaster in the region.
StarHub will be the home of the IPL in Singapore. Meanwhile, YuppTV, the OTT provider for South Asian content has secured the digital media rights for Indian Premier League 2021 for the region. YuppTV will stream IPL 2021 in SE Asia including Malaysia, Singapore, Europe & South America.
Pakistan will not be having a broadcasting option for IPL 2021. However, Star India has got into contracts with local broadcasters in regions of Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
The wide range of broadcasting shows the importance and advantage of Media Rights, which constitute about 60% of the revenue of the tournament. IPL is one of the most lucrative sporting events in the world. It attracts big global audience, giving BCCI a good opportunity to stack up broadcast revenue.
According to industry estimates, IPL had reported an estimated 30-40% decline in revenue last year. To overcome that decline, Star India has signed 18 sponsors which will reportedly increase revenue by 25-30%.
Could it be that this decision to broadcast intentionally is also a step to add to their revenue figures?