Following the Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights auction, the per match value of the cash-rich Indian T20 league has surpassed the INR 100 crore mark. With this, the IPL has overtaken some of the oldest global major sports properties.
Just like the IPL, there are various sporting leagues around the world that pay a handsome amount of money for each match played throughout the season. The advancement in the broadcasting sector has enhanced the user’s viewing experience and thus makes it one of the most lucrative industries. Let’s have look at the per match cost of the top three most expensive sports leagues:
1. National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) stands first on this list, which is an elite level of professional American football (Rugby). The league, which runs for 18 weeks each year, is worth INR 133 crore per game.
It is expected to grow even more with the league’s soaring earnings assisting far-reaching plans for the next decade, during which team owners hope to expand the NFL’s already vigorous calendar, make deeper inroads into overseas markets, and grow the football audience through streaming services.
3. Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League is the world’s only cricket tournament that matches the value of major football and basketball leagues. The IPL’s media rights for the 2023-2027 season were recently sold for a whopping INR 48,390 crore. Each game of the two-month-long 10-team competition is now worth INR 118 crore.
A total of seven companies are said to have competed for IPL media rights. The television media rights were categorised in multiple packages. Package A, which consisted of TV rights was retained by Disney Star India, while Package B i.e. the digital rights were acquired by Viacom18. Under Package C, Viacom18 paid another INR 3257.52 crore for a non-exclusive package of games (ranging between 18 and 22 matches). Package D, Viacom18 and Times Internet segmented the overseas TV and digital rights for INR 1,057 crore.
3. English Premier League
The English Premier League (EPL), which is the supreme level of the English football league system is the world’s most-watched football league. The competition, which is contested by 20 clubs that play 38 matches each, racks up INR 87 crore per game.
With time, the value per match will definitely increase as EPL is one of the biggest European football leagues.
