HOW IPL GOT AFFECTED DUE TO THE PANDEMIC
The spread of the novel coronavirus has affected the entire sporting world. All the sports have come to a halt. The UEFA, Tokyo Olympics 2020 and many other yearly sporting events have either been postponed or cancelled. Matches are being played behind closed doors without spectators as a measure to stop the spread of the virus. This has affected many companies who have invested a considerable amount in sports. The cricketing world has also come into the grip of the COVID 19.
Particularly speaking about our country, the sporting industry has grown tremendously in the last decade. Indian sports industry is one of the fastest growing industry in the world . IPL(Indian Premier League) which is India's leading sport event, was originally planned to start from March 24 2020. It has been kept on hold as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise in the country. Many states in India such as Maharashtra have banned the ticket sales. Brand value of IPL in 2019 was estimated to be $6.7 billion. As the IPL has been postponed the stakeholders, franchise owners, players, broadcaster as well as the BCCI will incur a humongous loss.
IPL has emerged as a permanent and one of the cheapest form of entertainment for around 45 days. Also, experts suggest that this game is the safest to invest in. Media has also played a crucial role in this. One of the main sources of income is media rights of IPL, where reportedly they earn a massive 4000 crore ! This year's media rights were bought by Star TV for 3000 crore approximately.
Many key Franchises are concerned over sponsors. As sponsors arrange a lot of activities and meet and greets during IPL. If there will be no audience then they aren't going to be in high spirits. Furthermore, franchises are offering players a meaty salary and making money through other means such as gate revenue and media rights. Franchises also spend a good amount on players, support teams, logistics among others. All of this costs around Rs 300-500 crore and out of this Rs 100 to Rs 300 crore is recovered from the sponsors. It was earlier reported that for the first time in the IPL’s history, the franchises have sold almost all the spots for sponsorships ahead of the start of the tournament and were estimated to collect over Rs 500 crore this season. Due to the spread of Covid-19, Business Reports have reported that if IPL is cancelled it could cost BCCI a loss of Rs 3869.5 crore. This includes approxRs 3269.5 crore for broadcast,Rs 200 crore for central sponsorships and Rs 400 crore for the title sponsorship revenue ! That surely has set a huge toll on this particular industry.
As per few experts, around 200 brands advertise actively on the IPL and for this edition 70-80% advertisement inventory is already sold. Usually this fetches some premium, but this will be deeply affected because of the postponing of IPL. To minimize the losses, BCCI has decided to take cost-cutting measures by reducing all the winning prizes to half.
Also, many employment opportunities are created by IPL which include making and selling of jerseys, caps, paints, accommodation and travelling . Unfortunately it will all go in vain due to the pandemic. A huge question arises about these industries considering the way in which they will procure the lost amounts.
If we are able to curb the pandemic in the early stages and if there is a possibility of postponing the event, the event might sell well.
It is quite relevant that even if the IPL continues the stadiums are not going to be filled the way it did all these years. The schedule of the players has also got disturbed which will make most of them to decline the invitation to the event.
Cancellation of IPL will not only be harmful for the parties involved, players and BCCI but also the Indian economy for the year 2020.